Fight Another Day IW AU
by 4NN0NYM0U5
Summary: Instead of being choked to death by Thanos, Loki is able to escape the Asgardian refugee ship. Will his presence be able to assist the Avengers in preventing the Decimation, or will they fail nonetheless? With what our Trickster knows, one can only guess. WARNING: Future chapters contain mentions of torture. DISCONTINUED (i'm sorry.)
1. Watch Me Burn

AN: 'Sup, readers! Since we don't have enough of them, and IW left me utterly devastated, I've decided to make an Infinity War AU before Endgame comes out. Yay!~ Anyways, I hope you like it. If I made any grammar or spelling mistakes, feel free to let me know via PM or Review. I'd love the feedback!

So, uh, here you go.

***shoves chapter in face***

**_Chapter 1 ~ Watch Me Burn_**

"You really are the worst, brother," Thor murmured tiredly. Oh, how he would never know how much that hurt, and Loki intended it to stay that way. He took a deep breath.

"I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again." Loki surprised himself with how calm his voice was as he stood on the Asgardian refugee ship, the Tesseract glowing blue in his fingertips. Thor spat more blood, gasping for whatever breath he could fill his lungs with. Thanos towered over the younger god, gripping the God of Thunder as though he were nothing.

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos mused, narrowed eyes watching him carefully.

"Well, for one thing," Loki began, because he just couldn't help himself, "I'm not Asgardian. For another, we have a Hulk." As if on cue, the green beast let out a roar and tackled Thanos. Thor was released and Loki dropped the Tesseract to dive to his brother's aid.

"Did you just-?" Thor began, but Loki cut him off with a forced laugh.

"Yes, I did." Loki turned back to watch Thanos fight the Hulk. In all his time running from Thanos, he'd never thought he would see the day when the mad titan was getting a beating. Yet, here he was, the sight right in front of him. Loki couldn't help but smile as he turned his attention back to Thor.

"We need to get the rest of the Asgardians off the ship," he ordered, and Thor nodded.

"Of course, brother." With that, Loki let his brother get up and watched as he ushered the rest of the terrified citizens into escape pods. Loki turned back to the fight with the big green beast. His face fell; Thanos had just knocked the Hulk to the ground easily, and Bruce's monster now lay unconscious.

"Oh, stars above," Loki murmured, scrambling to his feet. If the Hulk could not best Thanos, all hope was lost. He whipped his head to where Thor was having a heated argument with the Valkyrie. Most likely over if she was staying or leaving, Loki mused. Finally, Thor shoved the female warrior into a pod with Korg and Miek, slammed the button to close the door and sent it off into space. _A shame,_ Loki thought sadly. _If we survive this, we'll have to listen to Valkyrie rage about how she could've helped us._

Lost in his thoughts, Loki didn't have time to realise that Thor had been send back to the ground by one of Thanos' children, Proxima Midnight. The alien kicked Thor, sending the god rolling back to where he originally lay. She then turned to Loki, narrowed her eyes menacingly, mouthed the words, "_You're dead, trickster," _then looked back to the action.

Dr. Banner's beast still lay unconscious in a crater of debris. Among the fallen Asgardians, Heimdall caught his eye. Loki frowned in confusion as the gatekeeper shakily raised his hand. He murmured something, and Loki only caught the last few words.

"_Let the dark magic flow through me one last time."_

And that's when Loki understood. The Bifrost. Loki whirled around the Thor, who had weakly raised his head. When recognition dawned in his brothers eyes, Thor stumbled to his feet and approached Loki whilst everybody else was distracted.

"Good luck, brother," Thor breathed, and before Loki could ask what he meant, he was shoved harshly in front of Thanos and into the Hulk. Loki felt the power of the Bifrost surge around him.

"Thor, wait—" before he could finish his sentence, he was gone. Loki was torn away from the ship, flying through space with he Hulk. _Straight for Midgard,_ Loki realised. Then, the Hulk's limp body smacked him out of the trail of the Bifrost and slammed into the colourful energy of the Bifrost. Out into space. _Oh, joy. _Just like that, he was unconscious.

_"Let me rephrase that," past Loki sighed. "Is it really a good idea to bring _me _back to Earth?"_

_"Mm, probably not," Thor admitted. "But worry not, brother. I have a feeling everything is going to turn out _just _fine." _

_As he spoke, a shadow fell across the two brothers. A large warship loomed over them, and both Gods had to look up to see the entire thing. Loki's jaw dropped. It was __his__ ship. He'd recognize it anywhere. A ship he thought he'd only ever see again in his nightmares._

_"Oh, stars above," Loki murmured. "He's found me." _

_Beside him, Thor gave Loki a look of pure confusion. "Who are you talking about, brother?"_

_Loki didn't respond. He was too busy trying to steady his breathing and stop his hands from shaking. How had He found him? Or had He known all along where his lost little Asgardian was? Loki drew in a shaky breath._

_"Loki? Are you alright?" Thor had noticed. Loki snapped his head over to him._

_"We need to evacuate. Now." Thor must have detected the urgency in his voice and was about to question him again, but Loki turned away and hurried out of the room. _

_"Wha—Loki!" Thor called after him, but Loki continued down the ships halls to where the Asgardians were. He sped up his pace, trying to avoid Thor's flurry of questions. _

_He's going to blow up the ship. Loki just knew it. There was no escape from Him this time. Just as the Other had said to him so many years ago; __**There is crack, no crevice, no barren moon that He cannot find you.**_

_Too lost in his own worried thoughts, he stumbled straight into Valkyrie. She had a bottle of alcohol to accompany her, as always._

_"Woah there, Lacky, what's got you all shaken up?" Valkyrie asked, placing both hands on his shoulders to stop him. "Thor piss you off?" Loki met her gaze, though he couldn't be certain if he did it steadily or not. _

_"We need to evacuate the ship. Get Korg to help you. Women and children are the first to be sent into the escape pods. Get anybody who is able to fight prepared for—" Loki was cut off from his frantic orders by Thor, who grabbed his arm and twisted him around. _

_"Loki, what in the Nine Realms has gotten into you?" His elder brother demanded. Before Loki could reply, the ship shook. _

_"No... no, no, no! We need to hurry. He'll be boarding us soon!" Loki breathed, pushing Valkyrie away. He was trembling madly. All he could taste was the salty tang of blood. His ribs protested at the thought of being smashed in again. His own past screams filled his ears, drowning out whatever Thor said. The ship shook again. _

_"Loki!" Valkyrie's stern voice broke through as she slapped him across the jaw. _

_"We're wasting time!" Loki snapped, whipping around. "Hurry up, unless you all welcome death!" Without waiting for a response, he took off in a mad sprint down the halls of the ship. Another blast shook the ship again, and Loki stumbled to his knees. It wouldn't be long now. He still had time. He just needed to move quickly. He pushed on until he was in a crowd of worried Asgardians._

_"What is happening?"_

_"Are we being attacked?"_

_"Has Hela followed us?"_

_"Surtur is coming for us next!"_

_"Gather the children!" Loki ordered above their concerned questions. "Everybody gets in an escape pod. Fit as many people as you can in one! We're limited. Anybody able to fight, remain on the ship." The crowd began to move quickly towards the escape pods. __**But not quick enough,**__ Loki grimaced. He began to move through the crowds. "Korg?" He called, searching for the blue rock creature._

_"Hey, man!" A voice sounded behind him. Loki whipped around, face to face with the former gladiator. "I hear we are being attacked. What can I do for ya?" He asked cheerfully. If only he knew what danger they were all in._

_"I need you to help everybody to the escape pods and make sure they are all at full capacity," Loki ordered, sounding as confident as he possibly could. "If we are boarded, get a few other warriors to help you defend the pods until the are ready to be sent out. Set the pods co-ordinates to Earth." _

_Korg nodded. "Sure thing, man!" He lumbered off, Meik in his arms. "Hey, man!" He said to one lost looking Asgardian. "We're all about to hop on that escape pod and get outta here. You gonna come?" _

_Loki turned away, pushing through the crowds once again. Once he was in the open again, he spotted Bruce. He looked quite terrified. __**As he should be.**_

_"Hey, Banner!" Loki called, and motioned the doctor over to where he was standing._

_"A bunch of people were yelling about Hela attacking us again. Is that true?" _

_Loki shook his head. "Not Hela," he croaked. "Something much, much worse." As he spoke, a more violent blast hit the ship. Everybody was thrown to the ground. Loki landed harshly on his side and grunted. He sat up, brushed himself off, then stood. Bruce stood with him._

_"I don't know too much about space ships, but that didn't sound so good," Bruce murmured._

_Loki mumbled his agreement, spotting Thor hurrying towards him. Valkyrie had gone off to help people onto the escape pods. _

_"Loki! I order you, as your king and older brother, to explain to me what is happening!" Thor demanded in his _I-won't-take-no-for-an-answer _tone. Loki forced his hands to stop trembling and drew in a shaky breath._

_"Fine," he grumbled. "Do you remember when I led that attack on Midgard a few years ago?" Both Thor and Bruce nodded. "This is the mad titan who sent me with the scepter." Bruce groaned._

_"Oh, so now we have to deal with your angry former-master who you failed. Wonderful!" The mortal threw his hands up in the air and turned around. Loki frowned._

_"He was _not _my master," Loki growled. Thor was unusually quiet, as if he was thinking things over for once. _

_"Well, what does he want?" Thor asked after a moment._

_"Besides my dead body and the Infinity Stones, he would like to wipe out half the universe!" Loki snapped, loosing his patience. There was no time for this. They needed to leave, before—_

_There was a loud __**boom **__coming from the direction of the control room. Then, a few familiar clicking noises. _

_"Oh, stars, no," Loki murmured, taking a step back. To Thor and Bruce, the sound was only clicking. But Loki recognized the clicking. He understood what it meant. He understood the language. __**Chitauri.**_

**_"Where are you, little Asgardian?" _**_The taunt drifted faintly through the hall. The words echoed throughout his head. Nobody else could hear it. But he could. And it only made him even more petrified. _

_"What was that?" Bruce piped up._

_"They're here," Loki breathed. _

_"Who's here?" Thor demanded, spinning his brother around. Loki met his eyes, not even bothering to hide his fear. "Brother? Who is it?"_

_"Thanos," was all he got out before a large explosion knocked him unconscious._

_**ONE FAVOURITE = Thanos gets a punch in his ugly, purple face.**_

_**ONE REVIEW = Loki gets his hug.**_


	2. Friends With The Monster

**AN: Hiya again, readers! So, since I have quite a few chapters finished, I'll just be uploading them whenever. They ****_will_**** be getting longer after this chapter. I had written the first two chapters a different way, but didn't like it and went back to change it. So it's shorter now. (Not like any of you care-)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of these characters! (Though I wish I did ;;-;;) **

**Enjoy the chapter!~ **

**_Chapter 2 ~ Friends with the Monster_**

Loki woke floating above what he assumed to be Midgard. At first, he thought that he was back in the void, falling for all eternity. But when his eyes opened fully, he realised he wasn't. He was in space. Loki took a look around and shuddered. The vast emptiness was too familiar, too haunting.

It was _just_ like the void.

Loki shivered at the thought. All that filled his ears was silence. _How in the Nine Realms am I still alive?_ He should've died from lack of oxygen a long while ago. Not until he looked down at his hands did he realise what was keeping him alive.

His hands were blue. Again. Meaning the rest of him was, too. The cursed Jotun form he could never seem to escape from had saved his life. He couldn't bear the thought of having the appearance of a monster for any longer, so he surrounded himself in magic and made towards the large blue-and-green planet below him.

As he entered the atmosphere, his magic faltered. Eyes darting around in panic, he tried several more times to re-activate his seidr and protect himself from falling several hundred feet. Sadly, his luck had run out, and he began his plummet.

_Well, at least my Aesir skin has returned,_ Loki mused to himself as the wind whipped at his face and forced his body in several different directions. At one point, Loki was almost sure he wouldn't land where he wanted to. He'd he in the wrong part of Midgard, and then have to travel very far to find Banner. _Curse the Norns! _Loki thought bitterly. That was, until he saw the ground below him. As he fell, Loki could only see specks of what he thought were beings of some sort. As he got closer, he was able to recognise them.

Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian stood side-by side, their ship not too far off. Opposing them was Banner, ("_Thank the stars,") _Anthony Stark, and Stephen Strange. _Oh, joy. I have to deal with those too as well as the Maw._

Loki crashed with a faint yelp into the streets of New York, landing flat in his back and creating a large crater. He let out a soft moan of pain, then struggled to sit up.

"Oh, you're still alive," The Maw commented drily as Loki stumbled to his feet.

"That I am," Loki agreed and dusted himself off. He slowly looked over his shoulder. Bruce wore a large smile, Stephen looked concerned—probably not for Loki, but for New York, and Stark had a mixture of confusion and horror sketched on his face. Loki turned back to the Maw and Obsidian, clenching his fists.

"What did you do to the Asgardians, Maw?" Loki demanded, and he was even surprising himself. Since when did he care about the realm who'd casted him out on several occasion? Or was it only Thor he was worried about?

"The Asgardians?" Maw echoed with a dry laugh. "Well, they're dead, of course!"

"And what of Thor?" Loki lifted his chin menacingly. Surely his brother had escaped from Thanos' clutches?

"Oh, he was the most entertaining to kill," Maw sneered. "His screams were pitiful—almost as much as yours. _Almost._"

Loki felt his heart sink.

"Uhm, excuse me Squidward, but does somebody want to explain what's going on?" Stark called from somewhere behind Loki, but his voice was faint. Loki felt like Asgard had just exploded all over again.

_Thor is dead._

"I'll explain later, Tony," Bruce murmured. Loki cleared his throat and turned to the line of Midgardians.

"I believe I had disrupted a dispute. Please, carry on," he invited, shaking off all previous emotions. Sentiment was for the weak. Greif was for the cowardly. He stepped in beside Banner and readying a dagger.

"Glad you're alive," Bruce said awkwardly, giving Loki a pat on the shoulder. Loki only dipped his head slightly.

"Thanks for showing up," Stephen said drily from somewhere among their lineup. "I should've kept you in that falling loop."

"Great to see you once again, too, Stephen," Loki retorted, peering around Bruce to the sorcerer.

"How is everybody else so calm with the fact that _Reindeer Games _just fell from the _sky! _And how do you know the wizard, here? Or Squidward?" Maw curled his lip at the name _Squidward._ Loki laughed.

"I'll let Stephen explain our last encounter later on. As for how I know the Maw, he paid me a visit just a little earlier today." He brushed himself off, then strolled over to stand beside Bruce. "I believe I interrupted something. Carry on! ~"

"Hold it, Rudolph!" Stark snapped, stepping out of the line to look at him. "Why are you standing on our side? Aren't you with Squidward and alien Hulk?"

Loki frowned. "No, why would you think that?"

Stark scoffed. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're _evil?"_ At this statement, the Maw laughed. Loki winced at the sound and turned back to Thanos' two children.

"Oh, Earthling, if only you knew!"

"If only I knew what?" Stark snapped back, crossing his arms. The Maw didn't respond. Instead, he turned to Obsidian and murmured an order to him. He grunted a response, and slowly made his way across the street.

"Okay, Brucie, you want to Hulk out now?" Stark asked, stepping back into line. Bruce sighed.

"No, but when do I ever get what I want?" He strained, the veins in his neck turning green.

"Been a while," Stark sighed, rubbing his hands together. "It's good to have you, buddy." When nothing happened, he turned to Banner. "Come on, man, where's your guy?"

"I don't know, we've sort of been having a thing," Bruce responded.

"We don't have time for a thing—that's a thing right there," Stark said, pointing at the approaching Cull Obsidian.

"I don't—I can't—he won't.." Bruce trailed off, exhaling.

"Alright man, your benched. Mr. Wong, if you could just keep an eye on him for me?" The bald man next to Stephen nodded and stepped over to Bruce. Loki blinked at the scientist, he shrugged, and Loki turned back to watch the Maw.

Stark had formed his suit, with Bruce asking amazed questions at him, when the Maw sent him flying away. Obsidian went after him, and Loki was left alone with the Wizard to face maw. Loki narrowed his eyes in concentration, and in a flash of green he was wearing his traditional gold and green armor, along with his helmet.

Somewhere behind him Stark called, "Rudolph has regained his horns, everybody, be wary!" Loki rolled his eyes and huffed.

"That joke is getting old, along with the fact I do not understand it," he muttered. The Maw started to fling things at Stephen with his telepathic abilities, completely ignoring Loki's presence. Loki curled his lip in a sneer, sending a green blast of magic at Maw. He was knocked back, spat in anger, and turned to Loki.

"You dare? I should have killed you in that cell when I had the chance! Father would not have minded—you were barely any use anyways!" He spat, and Loki shrugged.

"Your loss, I suppose," was all he responded with, before rolling out of the way of a street sign. Stephen made some arm movements until he had a sparking orange shield in his hand. He flung it at the Maw, who intercepted the blow by bringing a car in front of him.

"He's got telekinetic powers," Stephen noted. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Wow, I didn't know that before," he grumbled sarcastically, flinging another knife towards Maw. While the Maw dodged his knife, Stephen send a blow of his own. Blood splattered from a wound in the aliens head, and he snarled.

"You'll pay gravely for that," the Maw spat. Loki narrowed his eyes, then watched as a figure in a red-and-blue suit swung by on web.

"What in the Nine Realms?" he murmured. Stephen looked over.

"I've got this guy. Go see if Stark needs any help," he ordered, and Loki sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He started off, when the street beneath his feet began to crumble. Loki stumbled as the chunk of concrete lifted into the air, sending him flying again. While the piece of rock crashed to the ground, Loki continued soaring through the sky. _Wonderful. This is just perfect. _And then he was falling. Loki squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain of falling 500 feet straight into concrete, but instead something snatched him. Loki blinking open one eye. It was the red-and-blue suited figure.

"Hey man! I saw you flying, and—wait a second. Are you that Laki guy from a few years ago? I saw you on TV, man! You were so cool! Except for the fact you tried to take over the world.." _This is barely even a child!_ Loki thought in disbelief as the child continued to ramble. When he was safely on the ground, Loki sighed and brushed himself off.

"Thank you," he said with a dip of his head.

"Oh, no problem, man. Hey—I'm Spider-man, by the way," the boy replied, holding his hand out to be shaken. Loki ignored it and narrowed his eyes.

"Spider-_man? _You sound more like a Spider-boy to me," he huffed. The so-called Spider-Man let out a growl of frustration.

"I'm not a boy, I'm a man!" He retorted. Loki shook his head slightly.

"Whatever, boy, man, whoever you are, we should probably get back to helping the others." Spider-man nodded his agreement.

"Do you want me to swing you there? Mr. Stark is fighting some alien thing in Central Park!" The boy suggested. Loki smirked and shook his head.

"No, I think I have my own means of getting there." He remembered Central Park from his last visit to Midgard, so he simply snapped his fingers and was teleported straight there. He found himself next to a fallen tree, and within it's branches was a disgruntled looking Bruce Banner.

"Hey, Loki!" Bruce greeted with a smile. "I'm glad you're alive, man. Is Thor with you?"

"No. Thor is—" before he could finish his sentence, he was thrown across the park by a stray blast from one of Stark's repulsers.

"Hey!" He shouted over. "Same side, here!"

"That's what you get for what happened in New York!" Stark called back, blocking a blow from Cull Obsidians weapon.

"Oh, trust me, Anthony. I've already paid my debts from New York," Loki muttered, easily sending a blast of magic towards Cull and sending him flying. The bald man Stephen had addressed as _Wong _opened a portal to where Obsidian was about to land, and closed it, leaving the alien stranded wherever the portal had led too.

"Wong, you're invited to my wedding!" Stark called, before flying off. Loki shook his head with a _tsk. _Then, the Spider-boy landed next to him.

"Hey, how'd you get here so fast?" He asked, straightening from his super-hero landing.

"Magic," was all Loki said, before walking off. A few paces in front of him, Stephen whizzed by, strapped to a piece of concrete and unconscious. Close in pursuit was the Maw.

"Ah, yes, you could handle him by yourself, could you Stephen?" Loki chuckled, then hurried after.

Somewhere behind him, Stark called, "Kid, that's the wizard, get on it!"

"On it!" Was the boy's reply as he swung passed Loki. Loki snapped his fingers again, focusing on the path the Maw and Stephen were headed, and found himself in front of them. As Stephen whizzed overhead, he leaped up and kicked the Maw off balance. The two became tangled, rolling over each other in a struggle to come out on top. After a few moments, the Maw had pinned Loki to the ground.

"Prepare to meet your doom, Asgardian," The Maw spat. Loki smirked.

"I'm not Asgardian!" He hissed, sending his dagger straight into the Maw's gut. The telekinetic alien let out a cry of pain and Loki used the distraction to free himself. He slipped from the Maw's grasp and stood panting a few paces away.

"You're right that you're not Asgardian," the Maw spat, ripping the dagger from his gut and tossing it to one side. "You're nothing but a monstrous Jotun posing as the Prince of Asgard!"

Loki's breath was caught in his throat. At the same time, the Maw sent a street sign flying towards him and continued his chase after Stephen. The sign hit Loki square in the head, and he fell unconscious.

**...**

**ONE FAVOURITE = Ebony Maw gets yeeted out a window.**

**ONE REVIEW = Loki gets a get-well soon card.**


	3. Who Is In Control?

**AN: Hiya, all! I'd like to thank everybody for reading so far! Your reviews motivate me to continue this story. The chapters should be getting a little longer now that we've gotten past the initial place I had changed. Props to anybody who can name the song I get my title from, because I am using song lyrics. I know, so original. Remember, if you see ****_any_**** mistakes, feel free to inform me via PM. I'd appreciate the feedback!**

**So, here's the next chapter. Happy reading!~**

**_Chapter 3 ~ Who is in Control?_**

Loki woke to Bruce standing over him, gently patting his face.

"Hey, Loki, you alright?" He asked, giving his cheek another soft slap. Loki grunted and pushed the doctor off.

"Very," was his reply, mixed in with a sharp exhale. "Ow." Bruce smiled weakly.

"You've got quite the concussion, that's for sure," Bruce mused, helping the god to his feet. Loki slowly lifted his head to feel his temple, the source of the blood that was dripping down his face.

"Nothing I can't handle," Loki replied, forcing his tone to be light despite his pounding head. "Where is everybody else?"

"Up in that spaceship," Bruce replied, pointing towards the sky. "Strange was taken by that alien guy. Tony and the kid went after him." Loki turned his head to spit out a bit of blood that had filled his mouth while Bruce spoke.

"Oh, stars above that's just delightful! Now what are we supposed to do?" He asked, throwing his hands up into the air. Bruce blinked a few times.

"I heard about Thor," Bruce sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter, now," Loki snapped. "What are we going to do?"

"I've got to make a call," Bruce mumbled, before picking up an older looking Midgardian Cell-phone from the rubble. Loki watched in confusion as he pressed a button, then held the device up to his ear.

After a few moments of Loki standing there with his arms crossed and Bruce holding the phone up to his ear, the doctor lowered it and sighed.

"It keeps going to voicemail."

"Who were you trying to call?" Loki inquired, raising one bloodied eyebrow.

"Steve Rogers," Bruce replied with a sigh. "But instead, we'll just have to go to that new Avengers compound everybody is talking about." Loki let out a small groan.

"Seriously? You're an Avenger. Why can't you just call him yourself and save us the trouble?"

"Well, before you came crashing down from the sky, Tony kind of told me the Avengers had broken up," Bruce began wearily. Loki couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I knew that group of yours wouldn't last!" He wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. Bruce, however, did not look amused.

"As I was saying," Bruce interrupted his hysterical laughter sternly. "Steve is a fugitive now. Nobody knows where he is and there is no form of contact with him besides this phone he gave Tony."

"Whatever, then, lets head to this stupid compound. To make our lives much easier, do you have a general location of this building?"

Bruce thought for a moment, before murmuring, "Tony said that it was somewhere upstate." Loki nodded.

"If this doesn't work and we end up in some random mortal's home, I blame you," Loki hummed, before focusing on the location he was given and the Avenger's stupid logo. With a snap of his fingers, they were standing in front of a modern white building, a slightly dark gray '**A**' plastered on the side.

"Woah!" Bruce exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic," Loki replied. "Let's get this over with, now, shall we?" With that, the two entered the building.

When they got inside with no trouble, Loki couldn't help but comment about Stark's bad security. They made through the empty halls with ease, not seeing a single person. Until they found an African-American man with braces on his legs. Loki raised a brow. He didn't look familiar whatsoever. But he was to Bruce.

"Rhodey!" Bruce called, and rushed over to give him a hug.

"Bruce? What're you doing here? You went off the radar two years ago!" A slightly confused and surprised Rhodey replied. "And who the hell is _that_?"

The question was obviously directed towards Loki, so he smiled and responded, "I am Loki. You may have heard of me—" Before he could finish, the man had a gun pointed at his head. Loki took a step back and raised his hands in surrender.

"You're the fucker who led that alien attack on New York a few years ago," Rhodey snarled. "What the hell is he doing with you?"

"Uh—he's on our side now!" Bruce replied quickly, lowering the gun in Rhodey's hand. "Don't worry. He's here to help us face Thanos."

"Who the hell is Thanos?" Rhodey asked, switching the gun to his other hand and pointing it at Loki's head again.

"The Mad Titan who wants to obliterate half of the universe," Loki answered calmly, his hands remaining in the air. "Unless you are prepared to watch your loved ones die, I suggest you lower the gun and hear me out."

At that, Rhodey slowly lowered the gun. "Oh. That doesn't sound too good."

"No, it doesn't," a new voice agreed. Loki spun around to find himself face-to-face with none other than Steve Rogers.

"Loki," the captain greeted with a nod. Beside him was who he thought was Agent Romanoff, though her hair was dyed blonde. Behind the two Avengers was another African-American, a woman with long brown hair and, sandwiched between them, a humanoid robot. What immediately caught his eye, however, was the glowing yellow stone embedded in the robot's head.

"Who thought taking the stone out of my scepter was a good idea?" He snapped, pointing at the gem. "That'll only make it easier for Thanos to get his hands on!"

"Too bad," Romanoff snarled. "Wasn't your decision to make."

"Who the hell is this guy?" The African-American whispered.

"That's Loki," the woman replied with a slight accent. Loki smiled at her and noticed that for a brief moment, her brown eyes had a red tinge to them. _Huh. Interesting. _"Me and Pietro watched the attack on New York. He was at the head of the invasion."

"Indeed I was," Loki agreed. "Glad to know I was not completely forgotten." Rogers narrowed his eyes, clearly not pleased at all to see his former enemy alive and well, not to mention out of chains.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" The Captain demanded.

"Ooh~! Straight to the point, now, are we?" Loki hummed, a grin flashing across his face. "If you'd all just make yourself comfortable, me and Doctor Banner shall explain everything." At the mention of Banner, Romanoff's face lit up.

"Bruce?"

As his name was spoken, Banner stepped out from behind Loki.

"Nat," he greeted with an awkward smile. "I, uh, like the new hair. You look good as a blonde."

"Well I think she was better suited as a red head," Loki muttered.

"Oh, shut up!" Romanoff snapped, her gaze hardening.

"Shutting up," Loki replied absently, making his way over to a table and chairs. The rest followed suite.

Everybody settled in around the table; during this event, Loki learned that the second African-American was called Sam, the robot was called the Vision, and the girl with the sometimes-red eyes was Wanda. Loki settled himself in a chair and threw his feet up onto the table.

"Bruce, if you'd be so kind as to start," Loki prompted. Bruce cleared his throat.

"Uh—yes. So, when I went missing two years ago, I'd actually been sent to this planet called Sakaar. I stayed the Hulk those entire two years, so I don't remember much. But I met Thor there." At Loki's glare, he quickly added, "and Loki."

Everyone around the table was nodding slowly, and Rogers murmured, "go on."

"We went off to fight Thor and Loki's evil sister, Hela—"

"Wait, a sister too?" Romanoff interrupted. "I thought It was only you and Thor, Loki."

"Yeah? Well, so did we," Loki shot back, crossing his arms. "Our father's last-minute secret spilling revealed we did, indeed, have an older sister. The Goddess of Death, Hela."

"You've got one fucked-up family, dude," Sam muttered, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it," Loki sighed. "Carry on, Banner."

"Ah—yes! So, we had to start a thing called Ragnarok, which is the destruction of Asgard. We got all the people on a ship and flew away moments before the whole planet exploded."

"Asgard? You've been there?" Rogers asked, it being his turn to interrupt. "What was it like?"

"Uh, very golden and on fire," Bruce replied. "But I'm sure I just saw it at its worst."

"Mm, not really, no," Loki sighed. "That's about how it always looks."

"We're off track again," Rhodey informed.

"Right," Banner began again. "Anyways, we came in contact with this huge warship on our way to Earth. Turns out it was Thanos and his crew coming after Loki who had _somehow_," he turned his gaze onto the trickster who was leaning back in his chair casually, "obtained the Tesseract from Asgard's vault before it exploded."

Everybody's eyes turned on him, and he slid his feet off from the table and chuckled nervously.

"Well, you see, Thanos would've gotten it anyways if we'd just left it there."

"It would've been destroyed with Asgard!" Banner argued.

"You can't just destroy an infinity stone, genius!" Loki snapped. "Otherwise, I would've gotten rid of the Tesseract long ago! And, besides," he added, his tone calming down slightly, "Thanos would've come if I'd had the Tesseract or not."

Wanda raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Oh? And why would he do that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I failed to bring him the mind stone and the Tesseract in the _first_ place?" Loki sighed, shaking his head slightly. "You don't just fail the Mad Titan and get away with it. Oh, no, far from that." His gaze hardened. "He was already hunting me the moment I was imprisoned on Asgard. I could feel it."

"Well why didn't you just tell someone the about the threat?" Vision asked. It was the first time the keeper of the Mind Stone had spoken, and Loki narrowed his eyes.

"You think the great Odin All-father would've believed me?" He spat. "Of course not. No, he would've just thrown me to Thanos to be slaughtered like the beast I am!"

"And why should we trust you?" Wanda countered. "For all we know, you could be lying to us to save your sorry ass!"

Loki couldn't hold back the rage before it bubbled over. He slammed his hands on the table and stood, glaring at the girl.

"Because my brother _died_ in the hands of this madman, and I want to watch him burn in return!" Loki exploded. Everybody around the table, save Bruce, frowned.

"Thor's dead?" Rogers croaked. Loki curled his lip into a snarl.

"Yes. Thor is dead." Loki wasn't expecting his voice to waver, but it did, and he swallowed hard.

The room went into silence.

"I still don't trust you," Wanda murmured. Rhodey agreed quietly, along with Romanoff and Vision. And, for some reason, Loki was caught in a memory.

…

_"I wish I could trust you," Thor murmured, lowering Mjolnir. As his adopted brother took a step back, revealing the dark sights of Svartalfheim once again, Loki straightened. Thor walked away to check on his maiden, Jane, and Loki lowered his gaze. _

_After a moment, he raised it again and replied, "Trust my rage."_

_…_

Why did that come up now, of all times? Loki frowned, gaze sweeping over each of the Avengers. They all had their eyes on him expectantly.

_They want me to accept that I'm untrustworthy, _Loki thought sourly.

The rage and grief he felt in him was similar to when Frigga was slaughtered. The feeling that it was his fault. That he could've prevented it somehow.

For this reason, Loki murmured, "Trust my rage."

Everybody around the table exchanged glances. The room lapsed into silence, everybody rearing back in surprise. Loki slowly seated himself back down and kept his gaze firmly on his folded hands in his lap.

"Let's just get back to what happened," Romanoff suggested. Loki nodded, leaning back in his chair once again and shaking off any signs of weakness.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Thanos slaughtered half of the Asgardian refugees, and the few we managed to get onto escape pods before hand managed to escape with their lives," Bruce began again. "This guy tossed Thor to the side like a rag-doll and beat the Hulk unconscious without really trying!"

Rogers winced. "So he is really a large threat, then, huh?"

"Yes! Yes, he is a huge threat! He invades planets, slaughters half the population, takes what he wants—we are talking entire civilisations, Steve!" Bruce continued.

"So what does Thanos want?" Rogers asked after a moment of silence.

"He kills and calls it mercy," Loki growled. "Thanos' main objective is to collect all six infinity stones. Once he has them, he can wipe out half of the population with a snap of his fingers." To demonstrate, he snapped his fingers and mouthed the word '_boom.' _

"So we just need to keep him away from the stones?" Sam asked.

"It won't be such an easy task," Loki warned. "Thanos is the most powerful being in the universe. Stopping you lot will be like swatting flies to him."

"You said there was no way to destroy an Infinity Stone," Vision murmured.

"Yes, that is right," Loki confirmed. "Why?"

"There must be a way. Perhaps a power similar to it's own.." He trailed off, his eyes wandering to Wanda.

"No, Viz. I'm not doing it. You'll die," the girl replied stubbornly.

"It is the only way," Vision whispered.

"We don't trade lives, Vision," Rogers spoke up, his gaze resting on the android.

"Well, we could get the stone out another way," Bruce supplied. "Vision is made out of a bunch of different parts—Jarvis, Tony, me, the stone. If we were to take away the stone.."

"There would still be some of Vision left," Sam finished with a smile.

"Can you do it?" Rogers asked, turning his eyes to Bruce.

"Not here, not me," he murmured, lowering his gaze.

"Well, what're we going to do now?" Rhodey sighed. After a few moments, Rogers stood and addressed everybody.

"I know a place."

…

"So, this Wakanda place has the correct technology to remove the Mind Stone safely from the robot's head?" Loki asked as they all piled onto the Quinjet. Loki let his gaze wander; it was a similar shuttle to the one he had been in when he had been dragged away from Germany.

"Yeah. They're the most advanced on the planet," Rogers answered, taking a seat. Rhodey and Sam went to the front of the jet and sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats.

"And then once the stone's out," Wanda added, "that's when I destroy it."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Loki murmured, sitting down as well. Bruce followed Nat to a seat, and they started whispering to each other. Most likely Bruce getting caught up on all the events he'd missed. Wanda sat next to Vision, and the two started up a conversation.

The jet started, and Loki could see the blue light coming from the engines moment before the ramp closed. With that, they took off. Loki sighed and began playing with his magic, letting the green wisps flow between his fingers and curl up around his wrist. After messing around with it for a good 15 minutes; balling it up in his palm, twirling it between his fingers, and letting it run along his arm, he looked up and noticed the Captain watching with interest.

Rogers met his eyes and Loki raised a brow.

"Can I help you?" He prompted, letting the magic retract back into his body.

"No," the Captain replied. "I just never knew you could do.. that."

Loki smiled. "Its traditional magic," he supplied. "A craft that had been dying out over the centuries. I'm almost positive I'm the only traditional magic-wielder left." His mind wandered to Frigga, sitting with him in the palace library, telling him to keep his chin up as he attempted to hold the magic in his hand for the first time. Why did thinking about that hurt? Loki blinked rapidly, bringing himself back to the present. Rogers was eyeing him with sympathy.

_"I don't want your pity!" _He wanted to say. _"I don't need sympathy! I am a god, you mewling quim!"_

"You said something about failing Thanos back at the compound," Rogers murmured. Loki blinked.

"Did I?" _Must have just slipped out._

"You did," Rogers confirmed with a nod. "What did you mean by that?"

Loki frowned and didn't respond. _If I said anything to this mortal, would he believe me? Or would he take it as another lie? _Only after carefully picking his words did he reply.

"Thanos found me and offered me something I wanted. In return, I was sent with the scepter to Midgard to retrieve the Tesseract for him. When I failed, I was hunted down like an animal."

Rogers nodded, satisfied with the answer. He looked suspicious, as if he knew there was more to the story than that, but he didn't pry. _Thank the stars for that._

After another hour or so of silence, Rogers motioned for Agent Romanoff, Bruce, Sam, Wanda and Vision to have a 'quick chat,' as he'd called it. Loki narrowed his eyes, and instead of listening in, found himself lost in deep thought.

...

_A young Loki—maybe about the age of 8 in Midgardian years, followed after Frigga through the grand halls of the palace. He clutched a book against his chest, and Frigga gracefully held three books of her own stacked on top of each other._

_"Thor and his friends say that magic is a womanly art," little Loki murmured to his mother. "That isn't true, is it? I can do magic, too!" _

_"Yes, darling, of course you can!" Frigga assured, sending her son a warm smile. _

_"Then why do Thor and his friends keep calling me Lady Loki?" _

_At this, Frigga frowned. "I'm sure they are just teasing you, dear. Don't listen to them. When you master magic, you'll prove Thor and his friends wrong."_

_"That's right!" The young Loki agreed happily, all previous uncertainty vanished. "I'll be as good as you one day! And then I'll show them just how amazing magic is!" _

_A few moments of silence, and then, "I __**will**_ _be as good as you one day, right mother?"_

_"Well, of course you will, my dear. I wouldn't expect anything less." _

_…_

_A slightly older Loki—now about 13 Midgardian years, circled around Thor, who was about 15 in Midgardian years._

_"Come at me, brother!" Thor taunted. "Show me what you've learnt in your month of training!"_

_It wasn't exactly a fair fight; Thor had been training for two years longer than Loki, and Loki had only been training for a month. Yet, Odin had insisted the two brothers partake in a spar. Loki held two wooden knives, their blades dull, and their handles sanded down. Thor was wielding a wooden sword, the blade also blunt. Loki flung a dagger at his brother, who rolled out of the way and charged. Loki braced himself for the attack. Thor swung his sword at Loki, who blocked it with his dagger and knocked his brother back. _

_"That all you've got, Thor?" Loki asked mockingly, a smirk forming on his face. A strand of dark hair had fallen into his face. Thor laughed._

_"Oh, brother, I'm just getting started!"_

_Thor lunged, and Loki barely dove out of the way. Thor charged again, not giving his younger brother a chance to regain his footing. Thor tackled Loki back to the ground, and the two rolled around the clearing. _

_On the sidelines, Thor's friends cheered him on. Odin, too, was watching his sons spar. Undoubtedly, he too was cheering for his eldest son._

_Thor finally pinned Loki to the ground, and Loki struggled beneath him. _

_"Have I won, father?" Thor asked, turning to look at Odin. Before the All-father could reply, Loki kicked Thor's heavier weight off of him and stumbled to his feet._

_"I'm still able to fight, brother!" Loki announced, regaining the wooden dagger he had thrown at the beginning of the match._

_"Not for long!" Thor declared, lunging again. Loki took a deep breath and stepped to the side. He was pleased to see that a perfect clone of himself stood where he once did, and Loki quickly disappeared from sight. Thor charged right into the fake Loki. When he went straight through what he thought was his brother, he looked around in confusion. _

_Loki took that time to tackle his brother from behind, pin him, and hold a blunt dagger to his neck. Thor struggled, but Loki kept him pinned. Thor laughed._

_"Well done, brother!" He praised. "That was a good trick." _

_"No, it wasn't!" One of Thor's friends, Sif, called from the sidelines. "No true warrior uses magic!"_

_"Sif is right," Odin agreed, stepping forwards. His eyes were narrowed coldly. "Loki cheated, and therefore has lost the match."_

_Loki's heart sank. "But, father—"_

_"No buts, Loki. I expect more out of you, being the Prince of Asgard. I should have never agreed to let your mother teach you magic!" Odin snapped, and Loki kept his mouth shut. There were so many comebacks brewing in his head, but he stayed silent. Odin let out a grunt and turned away. "From now on, you will spend all of your time practising fighting instead of magic! I do not want to see you continue your studies in magic."_

_Of course, Loki practised anyways. Late at night, he'd sneak out into the garden with one of his mother's spell books and practice. Frigga noticed, but she didn't dare give her son away to the All-father. Loki had a right to be treated as fairly as Thor, even if he was different. _

_…_

"Hey, Lokes, you look like shit." Rhodey's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Thanks for the compliment," Loki sighed, running a hand along his face.

"No, I mean, beat up and stuff. You too, Bruce," he added, looking at the doctor who was whispering to the other five Avengers.

"What?" He asked, looking over.

"I said you look like shit," Rhodey repeated. "You two should sleep. We won't be at Wakanda for another few hours."

Loki grumbled an agreement, and Bruce excused himself from his conversation to sit next to Loki.

"Move over," Bruce ordered. Loki narrowed his eyes and slid over until he was at the edge of the line of chairs. Bruce lay down on the row of seats with a sigh and closed his eyes. Loki frowned, before resting his head against the wall behind him and closing his eyes as well. He latched on to one of his happier memories, and he soon found himself in a light doze.

_**ONE FAVOURITE = High Fives from all the Rogue Avengers**_

_**ONE REVIEW = Loki obtains a pack of ice for his concussion**_


	4. You Should See Him In A Crown

**AN: I'd just like to say, this is the most I've gotten out of a story** **and I'm extremely happy about it. Thank you all for sticking with me. The chapters are going to start getting more interesting soon, trust me. Also, since I got this large review on the last chapter, I've decided to take this time and respond to all the reviews I'vereceived on this story. Bare with me, here. ^^'**

_Guest:__ Well, I am so glad that you're enjoying the story! I agree with your statement about Bruce and Natasha; the romance doesn't belong. I only put their little interaction in because it was in the movie and I felt i needed too. I also imagined the conversation the two held on the Quinjet would've stated that they could never work, and just left things there. Bruce x Nat is just... eugh. Hate the ship. Thanks for the review! 3_

Das Nordkonig-Bergentruckung: Super glad you're enjoying! If you thought these last few chapters have been interesting, just wait 'till you see what else I've got brewing up over here. Hopefully it'll be a little more exciting for you. Thanks for the review! 3

_RiftenRowan:__ God, Loki does deserve his hug though. I was so excited when they hinted to them hugging, and then they just ended it- SCREE! I've never reacted that way in a movie theatre before. Glad you're enjoying! Thanks for your review! 3_

**Alrighty, now that we're done with that, you may read the chapter now. After the warnings and stuff. Those are important.**

_**WARNING:**__** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF VIOLENCE, TORTURE, AND COARSE LANGUAGE! IT ALSO CONTAINS EXTREME SADNESS AND ANGST THAT SOME MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE! VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!**_

**Okay, you may read it now. *yeets chapter***

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**_Chapter 4 ~ You Should See Him in a Crown_**

"Is it decided, then?" Steve prompted, looking around at Wanda, Natasha, Vision and Sam. They all nodded. The group approached the sleeping Loki, who's head had rolled from leaning back to resting on his shoulder. The five avengers—six if you included Bruce, but he was currently asleep a little way off from Loki, had decided to have Wanda search through Loki's head.

"_Find out if we can truly trust him or not,"_ Steve had said. Now, Wanda crouched in front of the sleeping god, the other four huddled behind her. She watched him for a moment, before raising a hand and sending her scarlet red magic into his head.

Wanda was immediately sent diving into Loki's memories. Flashes of imagery appeared before her, moving too fast for her to properly make out. After the images flashed by several times, they slowed, and Wanda could see them clearly.

…

_Wanda was in a golden hallway, the ceiling arching high above her head. Outside the stained windows she could clearly see it was dark outside. She blinked in confusion and looked around. Wasn't she just in the Quinjet a few moments ago? When she saw two young boys chasing after each other, their giggles echoing around the golden walls, she understood. She was in Loki's mind now, watching what he currently was thinking of._

_Loki was running after Thor, unable to help the wide smile across his face. _

_"Bet you can't catch me, Loki!" The young Thor called over his shoulder, speeding up. Loki, too, quickened his pace._

_"I bet I can!" Loki called breathlessly. They ran all throughout Asgard's palace, Loki slowly but surely gaining on his older brother. That was, until Thor bumped into one of the guards. The guard turned and looked down at Thor, who had fallen from the force of slamming into the guards armored leg._

_"Prince Thor. Shouldn't you be in your quarters sleeping?" The guard asked. Loki stopped next to his brother, who had scrambled to his feet._

_"Yes, well, we were just on our way," Loki lied easily, sticking close to Thor's side. _

_"You boys just wait until your father hears about this," another voice spoke up, sounding more amused than angry. Loki turned his head to spot Frigga watching the exchange from afar, shaking her head fondly._

_"Hello, mother!" Thor greeted happily._

_"You lot should be in bed," Frigga commented, crossing her arms with a smile._

_"Thor came into my quarters and scared me!" Loki complained, pointing at his older brother. "I was trying to chase him away!"_

_"I did not," Thor protested._

_"You did so!" Loki retorted, crossing his arms with a huff. He didn't admit that he'd enjoyed chasing his brother throughout the palace. _

_"Thor, please stay out of your brother's quarters. You know he hates it when people invade his space," Frigga sighed. "And, Loki," Frigga turned to her youngest son, who was staring at her with large green eyes, "next time, try and chase your brother __towards__ his bedroom instead of away from it."_

_Loki grinned and looked at Thor, who returned his look with a smile of his own. _

_"Now, both of you off to bed," Frigga instructed, taking on a stern tone._

_"Yes, mother," the boys agreed in unison, and began walking back the way they came. As they walked, the two couldn't help but look at each other and laugh._

_Wanda watched the young Loki and Thor with interest, before sifting through Loki's memories and pulling out what she needed._

…

_Loki was staring down at his hands that gripped the Casket of Ancient Winters, which was an icy shade of blue. His jet-black hair fell in front of his face, and his panicked breathing was all that was audible. _

_"Stop!" Loki froze at the sound of Odin's stern voice. _

_"Am I cursed?" Loki asked, never turning to face his father as he spoke._

_"No," was Odin's reply. But was a lie. It was all lies. Because it _was_ a curse. A curse Loki had to carry with him for the rest of his life. He was cursed with the simple knowledge that he was a monster._

_"What am I?" Loki demanded quietly._

_A pause. And then, "You are my son."_

_Finally, Loki lowered the Casket back onto the pedestal and turned. He kept his blood-red eyes trained on the All-father, a menacing stare any other would have flinched under._

_"What more than that?" He growled. His skin faded back to his Aegir pale tone. He began advancing on the All-father, moving slowly through the vault. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"_

_"No," was Odin's reply. Loki stopped a little way before the steps his so-called __**father **__stood on. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple," Odin began wearily, and Loki listened, "and I found a baby. Small, for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die." Odin hesitated before adding, "Laufey's son."_

_Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Laufey's son?" He demanded in disbelief. _

_"Yes."_

_Loki could feel his breath catch in his throat for a moment. "Why?" He whispered. "You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"_

_"You were an innocent child," Odin insisted._

_"No," Loki snapped. "You took me for a purpose. What was it?" Odin didn't reply. Then, Loki screamed, "Tell me!"_

_If Odin was surprised by Loki's reaction, he didn't show it._

_"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace, through __you__."_

_"What?" Loki breathed in horror. He was nothing but a tool. _

_"Those plans no longer matter."_

_"So I am no more but another stolen relic, locked up, here, until you might have use of me?" Loki didn't even try to hide the despair in his voice._

_"Why do you twist my words?" Odin demanded softly, and Loki snapped his head up._

_"You could have told me what I was from the __beginning__. Why didn't you?" _

_"You are my son," Odin murmured. "I only wanted to protect you from the truth." _

_All of those years of stories about the Frost Giants, how they were terrible monsters that killed for fun. Loki had been there that day in the vault as Thor declared to slay all of the Jotuns. All his life, he'd believe they were nothing but beasts. And now that he was being told he was __one__ of said beasts, his whole world came crashing to the ground._

_"What?" Loki demanded. "Because I-I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?" He took another menacing step towards Odin, his despair being replaced by hatred. "You know, it all makes sense now!" _

_Was it just him, or was Odin looking older than usual? _

_"Why you favoured Thor, all these years!"_

_The All-father fell to the ground, staring up at Loki with pleading eyes. "Don't," he murmured weakly._

_"Because no matter how much you claimed to love me!" Loki continued, his voice raising. "You could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" He spat the words 'Frost Giant,' as if even saying the name left a bad taste in his mouth. _

_…_

_"You can't kill an entire race!" Thor pointed out desperately. _

_"Why not?" Loki asked, allowing a wide smile to spread across his face. He began advancing on his brother, weapon in hand. "You could have killed them all with your bare hands!"_

_"I've changed," Thor insisted. _

_"Well, so have I," Loki replied smoothly. "Now, fight me!" He whipped out with Gungnir, slicing Thor across the face and sending him flying across the Bifrost. _

_As Thor slid across the floor, Loki made his way around the icy replica of Yggdrasil. _

_"I never wanted the throne!" Loki went on roughly. "I only ever wanted to be your equal!"_

_Thor stood, Mjolnir clutched in his hand. "I will not fight you, brother!"_

_"I'm not your brother," Loki snapped, eyes narrowed coldly. "I never was." _

_"Loki, this is madness."_

_"Is it madness?" Loki repeated, tilted his head slightly. "Is it?" When Thor gave no reply, Loki repeated harshly, "Is it?" _

_…_

_He was hanging off the Bifrost, the only thing keeping him from the void being Gungnir in Thor's hand, and Odin who had caught Thor's boot._

_"I could have done it father!" He called desperately. "I could've done it! For you! For all of us." _

_"No, Loki," Odin replied, and Loki felt the familiar feeling of his heart sinking into his stomach. He'd never be enough for his father. Always a few paces short. That was the reason for what he did next. He let go._

_"Loki—no!" Thor cried, and Loki watched his adopted brother get smaller and smaller as he fell into a void of nothingness. The void where he would die. At least, that's what he'd thought._

_…_

_Loki felt himself be plucked like a useless object from the void. He didn't know how long he'd been trapped, too wrapped up in his own self-loathing to care. That was, until he found himself in a pile of rubble, bleeding and weak. Loki sat up with a gasp of pain and surveyed his surroundings. A few paces in front of him stood a being he'd never met before. _

_"Loki Laufeyson," the being rasped. "Prince of Asgard." Loki stumbled to his feet, eyes narrowed._

_"Who dare speaks my name?" Loki snarled. _

_"I am known as the Other, child. You'd do best to learn your place," was the snarky reply. Loki narrowed his eyes. _

_"What do you want?" Loki growled, taking a step forward._

_"__We__ require your assistance."_

_"We?" Loki looked around expectantly. "I do not see anybody else other than you and I."_

_"He does not wish you be in your presence as of yet," The Other growled. _

_"Oh?" Loki smirked. "Well, I do not believe I'd like to assist you. Have a good day." With that, he turned to leave. Except, he couldn't make his legs move. Something was holding him in place, and yet the only other creature he'd spotted since arriving on whatever realm he'd been sent too was standing far away to be holding him in place._

_"It is not a matter of choice, child!" The other spat. Loki struggled to move any part of his body with no success. It was like all of his limbs were frozen in a thick block of ice. And then he was on his side, being dragged across the stony ground._

_…_

_"Nobody is coming to save you, boy," Thanos snarled. Loki was crouching in front of the Mad Titan after being dragged several miles by the Other. "I suggest you give up the location of the Tesseract, or you shall pay gravely."_

_"If you're going to kill me, might as well get on with it," Loki mumbled. "I'm not going to tell you."_

_Thanos tilted his head and smiled, apparently finding Loki's choice of words amusing._

_"Very well, trickster," Thanos sighed with mock disappointment. Before he knew it, Loki was being dragged again. Except this time, he was taken aboard a ship and thrown into a cell._

_"Really?" Loki rasped, stumbling to his knees. "Locking me up is all you're going to do?" _

_Before he could say any more, a new figure pushed through the doorway and kicked him across the jaw. Loki spat out blood and coughed, looking up at his attacker. A pale female with blue swiped over her eyes, the same colour as her hair. She held a staff in her hand, though she didn't use it. All she did was use Loki's crouched position to her advantage and continued kicking him around. At one point, a tooth went flying. _

_"You know," she growled, "you are in a perfect kicking position." Loki's only reply was a wet cough. She kicked him again. And again, and again. She aimed a foot at his gut, then as he leaned forwards in pain, she slamming his head onto the ground with her foot. As Loki struggled, she grabbed a fist-full of his hair and yanked his head up, forcing him to look into her eyes._

_"I am called Proxima Midnight," she spat. "You'd do best to remember that name." _

_And then he was alone. Alone to nurture his wounds. Alone in a pool of his own blood. Alone in his own pain and despair. _

_Just like that, every few hours, Proxima returned. She beat him senseless, assuring him that by the end of it all, he'll realise his mistake and reveal the Tesseract. That by the end of it all, he will be rewarded. But he didn't believe the lies. He stopped believing the lies to moment he watched his hand turn blue on Jotunheim. That's all everybody ever did in the world; lie. So if that's how the Norns wanted to play it, he'd lie, too._

_"I don't know where it is," Loki choked after Proxima slammed a fist into his head. _

_"Silence, trickster!" Proxima snarled, bashing another fist at his head. She did it again, several more times, until Loki passed out from the pain._

_…_

_He'd started healing himself after each of Proxima Midnight's little.. visits. Loki thought he'd get away with it, too. Until the Other came into his cell and dragged him out. He was placed before Thanos again, left staring up at the Mad Titan, wondering what in the Nine Realms was going on. Perhaps they'd release him? Send him back to Asgard or, better yet, back into the void to waste away. Instead, Thanos turned from staring off at the vast expanse of stars to meet the trickster's gaze. _

_"You've been healing yourself with magic," Thanos commented. Loki narrowed his eyes._

_"How would you know that?" He retorted, which he immediately knew was a mistake. Thanos tilted his head, a menacing smile spreading across his features._

_"You think I don't know?" He rumbled. "My daughter, Proxima, has come to me with her concerns. You don't seem to be bruised or bleeding from her punishments." _

_Loki snorted. "Yes? And what if I was healing myself?" Thanos took a few steps closer, and Loki scrambled backwards on his hands to try and get away. But his attempts failed, and Thanos picked him up by his torn cape. The Mad Titan tutted._

_"You should learn to respect those who show you such mercy as I have done," Thanos sighed. "I guess you'll have to learn the hard way." _

_Then he was dragged away again, but instead of being left in his usual cell, he was placed in a larger room with a metal surface in the centre. Loki blinked in confusion, then found himself tossed onto the slap of cold metal. A new face loomed over him; gray, with a lump for a nose. The face smiled._

_"Father has asked me to discipline you. Using your magic, little trickster?" _

_His wrists and ankles were bound to the slap with rugged pieces of rope, rubbing against his skin. The next thing he knew was white burning pain spreading across his body. Loki screamed; he couldn't help it. It felt like all of his bones were being separated from their sockets. And then the pain eased, and Loki let out a breath. _

_"Have you learned your lesson?" His latest tormentor snarled. Loki coughed, blood bubbling at his lips, and nodded. "Good. Know that your agony came by the hands of Ebony Maw." _

_…_

_Loki didn't know how long he'd been in Thanos' clutches. All he knew was that every day brought even more pain and suffering than the last. He was whipped, beaten, and tortured in any way possible. In this length of time, he'd met two new tormentors; Cull Obsidian, and Corvus Glaive. He was only given enough food and water to keep him alive._

_Until, for the first time in what Loki assumed were months, he was dragged out of his cell and placed before the Mad Titan himself. Loki spat a bit of blood, before lifting his head to meet the titan's gaze._

_"Well, little trickster," Thanos began, "you've surprised me yet again. Almost a full year, and you're still alive. And you still haven't told me where the Tesseract is."_

_Loki frowned. He was almost positive another method of torture was in place for him, one so much worse than what he'd endured so far. But, to his surprise, Thanos chuckled._

_"No matter. I've other ways to locate the Tesseract. I know where it is. You do not have a purpose to me, anymore."_

_"You're going to kill me?" Loki asked, hopeful. He'd longed for the sweet released of death. Anything to get him away from the agonising days that went by in Thanos' grasp. _

_"No, I am not going to kill you," Thanos replied. _

_Loki's shoulders sagged._

_"I'm going to give you an offer," Thanos continued. "A new purpose."He turned, and when he turned back towards Loki, he held a golden staff. What stood out most about this new weapon, however, was the glowing blue gem. _

_"You are going to fetch the Tesseract for me," Thanos demanded. "If you succeed, I will grant you your freedom. If you fail, however… Let's just say you will wish you'd given up the Tesseract when you'd had the chance." _

_And so Loki had accepted the offer. He was granted the staff, and access to Thanos' elite army of Chitauri. _

_The moment his hand touched his new weapon, something felt off in his mind. He felt a new presence, someone else freely searching in his thoughts and memories. Someone whispering in his ear, telling him exactly what to do. He shook it off, like it was nothing. Not until he saw his reflection in SHIELD's cage did he notice something was seriously wrong._

_…_

_His eyes were blue._

_Loki had been born with green eyes—a vibrant shade of it, similar to his magic. Yet here he was, catching a glimpse of his rugged appearance in the reflection off the glass of SHIELD's containment for him. It made his stomach drop. Until that little voice, the one that didn't belong, whispered to him. Told him he was just seeing things. So, he brushed it off. But deep down, he realised the truth. _

_His mind was not his own._

_He'd managed to break free of the hold for a brief moment, fighting his brother on top of Stark Tower. Loki had looked desperately into his brothers eyes and murmured, "There's no stopping it." Of course, his hold of his mind didn't last long, and it wasn't until the Hulk slammed him repeatedly into the floors of Stark Tower did he truly free himself. _

_Of course, he couldn't tell anybody. Not only had they slapped a muzzle on him, Loki knew nobody would believe him. It was like that stupid mortal legend of 'The Boy who Cried Wolf.' He'd lied and faked things all his life. Who would believe a single word that left his mouth now? _

_But deep down, he had hoped Thor would notice. That Thor would realise the slight change in his brothers facade. Of course, the witless oaf didn't think twice about chaining him up and leaving him for Odin. Watching him be locked in the dungeons. Not even bothering to come visit. All Loki had had in those dark days were Frigga's kindness and the knowledge that Thanos would be arriving to kill him soon. _

_Frigga. Loki remembered clearly the last words he had spoken to her. Their final conversation before she was slaughtered brutally by Dark Elves. Slaughtered protecting Thor's woman. _

_"Your father—" Frigga began, but was shortly cut off._

_"He's not my father!" Loki roared, whipping back around to face her. Frigga frowned._

_"Then am I not your mother?" She whispered. Loki swallowed, meeting her gaze shakily._

_"You're not," he said after a moment, and as he spoke those words, he didn't know they would be the last he'd ever say to his mother. And Norns, did he regret it. All he wanted was to finally be released to death and apologise to his mother at the gates of Valhalla. But, sadly, that day kept getting further and further away._

_… _

_Loki watched Thor walk away from him, going to check on Jane. They were in Svartalfheim, on their way to rid of the Aether. But that wasn't what Loki was there to do. _

_"Trust my rage," Loki murmured, and Thor turned around. Loki met him dead in the eyes, willing for Thor to understand his meaning. Frigga needed to be avenged. And if he had died stabbing that stupid beast responsible for the Goddess' death, he would have been fine with it._

_Because he'd avenged her._

_But if he had avenged her, why did it still hurt so much?_

_Loki had messed up several times in his centuries of life. Hell, he'd made so many mistakes he couldn't even remember them all. But the worst one of all was telling that elf where to go._

**_"You might want to take the stairs to your left."_**

_He had led that horrible creature directly to Frigga. Directly to his mother. And he couldn't shake the feeling that her death was his fault to begin with. _

_…_

All the memories, all the images had flashed before Wanda's eyes like a horror movie. She'd only really been in his head for about 3 minutes, but it was enough time to look through several years of his memory. And she understood.

Immediately after she'd left his mind, Loki let out a gasp and shot his head up. His eyes were wide and full of panic. He shoved her out of the way and scrambled to an open space in the jet, a space where nobody was.

"W-what did you do to me?" Loki whispered. Wanda was reminded that he'd been forced to live through all of those memories again.

"Good god," Wanda breathed. What the hell did she just witness? She felt like she'd intruded, and part of her regretted agreeing to search the tricksters mind. But she understood. She understood _everything_.

"Wanda?" Vision prompted. "Can we trust him?"

Wanda turned, her breaths coming in gasps.

"Yes. Yes, we can trust him."

"Woah, hold up just a minute!" Sam interrupted. "She was only in there for a few minutes! How do we know he didn't use his magic or whatever and gain control over you?"

"I agree," Nat spoke up. "He's done it to Clint and several other's I know."

"Look, you just have to trust me," Wanda insisted.

"I trust you," Steve declared. "We've already discovered that the reason Loki was able to control those agents was because of the Mind Stone. He doesn't have it anymore."

"I trust her, as well," Vision added. "There is no logical reason for her to be lying to us."

"Thanks, Vis," Wanda said with a smile. "I should go talk to him," she added in a whisper, nodding to where Loki was crouched.

…

Loki was trying to slow his breathing. He'd relived all of those things again, which could only mean someone had picked through his mind. Again. _Oh, the Norns hate me, _he thought as he steadied his shaking hands.

"Hey," a soft voice greeted. Loki looked up to come face-to-face with the girl, Wanda.

"You were in my head," he growled.

"I was," she agreed. "We needed to know if we could trust you or not."

"Well, are you happy now?" He snapped, getting to his feet. "Not only have you invaded my privacy, but now you're going to pity me! Go on, tell me how sorry you are fore everything that happened, just like everybody else!"

"I don't pity you," Wanda snapped. "I still think you are a complete ass-hole. The only difference is, I now think you are _slightly_ less of an ass-hole." Loki rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes, and how _thankful_ I should be for that!" Loki muttered sarcastically.

"Whatever," Wanda sighed. "You have problems. Don't bottle things up, like your grief for Thor. It doesn't make anything better."

Loki scoffed. "Yes, O' Wise one," he mumbled, putting up a sarcastic facade to hide just how badly seeing his worst memories again had shaken him. Wanda shook her head and left, sharing a few words with the Captain, before sitting back down. Loki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Somehow, Bruce had slept through the whole ordeal. Rhodey had put the jet on Autopilot and was getting an explanation as to what happened. Loki, thank the stars, was left alone for the rest of the trip.

When the Quinjet's doors had open to reveal the smouldering heat of Wakanda, Loki couldn't help but be disappointed. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting. Impressive, yes, but he couldn't help but think that there was more to the place than he saw at first glance. He's usually wrong, though.

Loki followed behind the rest of the Avengers, catching Rhodey and Bruce's quick conversation. _A king, huh?_ He mused to himself. It certainly did look like it. Loki couldn't help but laugh and Bruce bowed, and the king responded with, "We don't do that here," in his thick accent

"T'Challa," Steve greeted, and the two men shook hands.

"Captain Rogers," T'Challa replied, stepping back.

"It seems like I'm always thanking you for something," Steve said.

"Do not worry about it," T'Challa insisted. "How big of an invasion should we be expecting?"

Bruce hurried forwards. "Uh—very big, sir!" T'Challa nodded.

"Do you have your forces ready?" Rogers asked wearily.

"Yes. All the tribes have agreed to fight beside us today."

"Plus, a semi-stable 100-year-old man," a new voice added. The Captains face lit up as they approached a man with longer, brown hair and a metallic arm. The two hugged, and Loki watched with his arms crossed.

"It's good to see you, Buck," Rogers said once the two had separated.

"You too, punk," Bucky replied with a smirk.

"I thought it best to have Sargent Barnes assist in this fight," T'Challa explained with a small smile.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Bucky added.

"Of course you wouldn't," Rogers chuckled, giving Bucky a soft punch in the arm.

"Excuse my intrusion," Loki interrupted, stepping forwards. "We have a Mind Stone to remove from a certain robotic-creature."

"And who is this?" The Wakandan king asked, turning to Rogers.

"That's L—"

"Loki, Prince of Asgard, God of Mischief," Loki interrupted, giving Rogers a look.

"Fellow royalty," T'Challa commented.

"I suppose. Could we get back to the task at hand?"

T'Challa nodded and led them through the city.

**ONE FAVOURITE = Loki gets a comfort huggle. 3**

**ONE REVIEW = The force of the reader's anger towards Thanos is so powerful, the ugly purple grape falls over and dies. X^X**


	5. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

**AN: Okay, I feel like this one is very short, but I wanted it to happen before the battle in the ****_next _****chapter, so I cut it off early. Sorry not sorry! Anyways, thank you all for your favourites and kind reviews. It really means a lot to me! **

**EDIT: I extended the little chat Bucky and Loki had, because it was quite pointless how it was before. They just acknowledged each other. It was cringe worthy and boring. I'm sorry to those poor souls who had to read that. bUT it's better now so we should be all good. ;)**

**Without further delay, I present to you...****_ CHAPTER 5!_**

**_Chapter 5 ~ You're Gonna Go Far, Kid_**

They moved through Wakanda at a quick pace, which Loki was grateful for. Loki actually found himself curious about the technology around him. It was certainly different from the rest of Midgard. Loki followed at the back of the group, eyeing his surroundings carefully, as they were led to what Loki assumed to be somewhat of a laboratory.

"My sister should be around here somewhere," T'Challa said once they'd entered the empty room. The Wakandan king turned to talk with Rogers, and Loki assumed it was to get an idea of what they were fighting. Wanda bumped past him on her way to the Vision, Bruce was looking at all the tech in awe, Romanoff had taken up conversation with the warrior sticking close to T'Challa's side, and Rhodey and Sam had wandered off somewhere.

Long story short, Loki was left by himself.

Not that it was unusual he was the odd man out; it'd happened on several occasions during his youth. Loki made his way to a nearby window and examined the terrain. No doubt they'd be fighting here, and the trickster liked to be prepared. Plus, he was trying to keep himself busy. If he was busy, he wouldn't have to process the fact that Thor was gone. But the thought popped up anyways, and Loki frowned.

The group stood in the lab for several more minutes until a young girl entered, holding some sort of holographic imagery in her hand. What interested Loki was the source of the hologram; a small, black bead. It was certainly fascinating.

The girl didn't seem to notice anybody else in the lab, who had all gone quiet the moment she entered.

"Shuri," T'Challa said after a moment.

"Not now, brother, I'm working on a new prototype. Whatever it is you need can wait," the girl dismissed absently, waving her hand. _Brother._ A good piece on information to note on Loki's part.

"But, Shuri—"

"No _buts,_ brother! This is important!" With that final statement, the girl disappeared behind small wall, separate from the rest of the lab.

"Well, I suppose the end of the universe is no longer important," Loki commented drily, earning a sharp glare from Wanda.

"Shuri!" T'Challa called, and the young girl's head poked out again.

"Oh! Our guests are here already?" She asked, hurrying over to them. When she lay eyes on Vision, she smiled. She, Banner and Vision all began talking about something science-related Loki didn't really care about, so he stopped listening. Instead, he slowly approached the window again and stared blankly through the glass. After a few moments, he felt someone standing beside him.

"You seem to be better at lying to yourself than you are to others, which is quite surprising," Wanda murmured. Loki blinked and turned his head to look at her.

"What could you possibly mean by that?"

"You're trying to tell yourself Vision is more important than your grief, which isn't true in the slightest," Wanda informed, never taking her eyes off the sun setting on the horizon.

"Oh, but it is," Loki chuckled. "If Thanos gets his hands on the Mind Stone, it's all over. I can't let myself be distracted."

"Even at the cost of your sanity?"

The question surprised Loki, and he frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He inquired.

"You can't just close yourself off from everything, Loki. You push everyone and everything away until you're alone. Its almost as if you enjoy suffering."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Loki snorted.

"No," Wanda replied slowly, "that's not what I'm here to do. I'm just telling you that you can still grieve—"

"Alrighty, I think that's enough," Loki interrupted sharply and stalked away. He stood next to Banner with his arms crossed. Bruce gave him a small smile, then continued to speak with Shuri. Finally, Shuri raised her voice so everybody could hear.

"I need to run some tests, so we cannot remove to stone just yet."

Loki frowned. "But we don't have much time," he insisted. "Thanos could be at your doorstep any second!"

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Bruce murmured. Rogers glanced from Shuri, to T'Challa, and back again. Then, he sighed.

"Alright. We'll wait."

"Until we are ready to begin the process, you should all rest," T'Challa added. "Okoye, please show them to the prepared guest quarters."

"Yes, my king," Okoye, the warrior that had been sticking close to T'Challa's side, murmured. Everybody except T'Challa, Vision, Shuri and Wanda followed the warrior as she led them from the lab. Loki kept to the rear, walking with his arms crossed. They were showed to three different rooms. Two of the rooms could sleep two, while the last one could sleep three. Loki didn't watch which rooms everybody else went into, he just went to an empty one before anybody else could. He plopped himself on one of the beds and watched Bruce shuffle in after him.

"Uh, all the other rooms were full," he murmured, and Loki shrugged.

"I don't care."

Bruce cautiously lowered himself onto the second bed. Loki stopped paying attention. Instead, he shifted his position, so he was sitting crisscross. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, calling upon the magic resting inside of him. He used to do this all the time when he was younger, with Frigga sitting next to him. She used to say it would replenish magic faster, almost as fast as sleep. And since Loki didn't think he _could _sleep, this was the best he was going to get.

The moment he called his magic, he felt the sounds around him melt away. All he could hear was the steady sound of his breathing, and the faint whisper of his magic. Images danced before him; the palace on Asgard, Thor's mischievous grin whenever they'd get intro trouble, sitting in the garden outside of the palace with his mother to practice magic. He remained like this for at least un hour, until he could faintly hear someone calling his name.

"Hey, Loki!" That was Bruce. Loki let his magic slip away and he opened his eyes.

"Yes?" He asked, slightly irritated.

"Sorry—I just.. you still have that concussion, and with the stress of learning about Thor.. I wanted to check on you," Bruce mumbled quietly. Loki blinked.

"I assure you, Banner, I am perfectly fine," he snapped.

"I knew you were going to say that," Bruce sighed. He turned away, as if he were about to leave, but he remained where he was. "It's okay to not be fine, you know. Nobody would blame you." Loki would've retorted sharply if Bruce hadn't left the room. Instead, Loki was left alone, staring after the scientist.

_This is absurd!_ Loki scolded mentally. He didn't need everybody pestering him like a flock of angry sparrows. Unlike everybody else he'd met, Loki embraced the pain. It was the only thing he could count on to always be there.

Besides, since when did anybody else care? He'd invaded New York, left Manhattan in ruins, betrayed his brother on several occasions-

_Don't think of Thor, for Norns sake._

The pity he was receiving was driving him mad. He would've preferred they beat him until he couldn't remember his name.

With a frustrated growl, Loki marched out of the room. He roamed the building, occasionally peeking into rooms. He came across a small lounge area, a training room, a library, (which he would most definitely return to at a later date,) and a cafeteria. Then, he came across sleek double doors, the glass in a complex pattern. Loki tilted his head curiously before pushing them open.

On the other side of the doors was an open field, the golden-like colour reminding him too much of Asgard. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting shadows across the landscape in the most beautiful way. Loki didn't think it possible to get a view like this on Midgard, with his only experience on the realm being the bustling city of New York. Yes, there was Norway where Odin had died, but the view wasn't quite the same.

Loki stepped out of the doorway and made his way through the field, the doors falling closed in his absence. He lifted his arm slightly, running an open palm across the blades of grass. Eventually, he came to a part of the field where the ground dipped into a valley. Loki sat at the edge, crossing his legs and gazing out at the rolling hills and occasional tree here and there. He let out a slow breath, lowering his gaze to his lap.

He used to sit in a similar place during his childhood on Asgard, his escape from the taunts and jeers of Thor and his friends. Loki could recall practicing spells, reading, or just enjoying the quiet place to sit when things got to be too much.

Loki took a deep breath, straightened his posture and closed his eyes. He once again called upon his seidr, taking up his previous task of meditation. In the midst of the chaos happening, anybody else wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to meditate. But Loki had lived out his whole live in chaos. They hadn't branded him as the God of Mischief and Chaos for nothing, after all.

It was almost as though Odin had expected him to turn on Asgard in the first place. Yes, Loki had been causing mischief almost a century before he obtained his title, but he didn't start causing chaos until the day he found out his heritage. Odin had expected the worst of his youngest son.

_What else is new?_ Loki thought to himself with a snort.

The world around him seemed peaceful, and Loki could've sworn he'd heard his mother chiding him about his posture, or how his chin was too low. Out of instinct, Loki straightened himself even more and lifted his head up to the sky. The sun's dying light was warm on his face. Loki opened one eye, and then the next.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been left in peace for this long. Ever since his fall off the Bifrost, Loki had always been on the move. In his cell, he couldn't concentrate over the loud jeers of the other prisoners. When posing as Odin, he was always busy with his king duties. Even on Sakaar, he was too busy getting on the Grand Master's good side.

There was the soft swish of grass behind him, and Loki's shoulder slumped. The solitude was coming to it's end. Loki didn't turn to face whoever had approached. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the horizon. The sun was just barely visible, casting it's final milky rays across the sky. The grass swished again, and then there was somebody sitting beside him.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?"

Loki didn't recognise the voice right away. It took him a few moments to match the voice to the man Rogers had referred to as 'Bucky.'

"Got me my first time seeing it, too. They definitely don't have anything quite like this in New York," Bucky went on.

Loki kept his mouth closed, watching the sun finally melt away into the grassy fields. He lowered his gaze to his lap with a frown.

"Your name was Loki, right?" Bucky asked, and Loki could feel the eyes on him.

"That is correct, yes," Loki sighed, rolling his head sideways to look at the other man.

"Steve was trying to explain you to me," Bucky sighed. "Something 'bout Gods and evil alien things in New York. I don't know what exactly he was talking about, but with the way everybody was looking at you, I assume they don't like you very much."

Loki smirked. "Obviously."

"He also told me that you know a lot about this Thanos guy," Bucky continued. Loki frowned and returned his gaze to the darkening sky.

"You could say that, I suppose," he murmured. Silence passed between the two for several moments. Loki took the time to watch each star blink into existence.

"You know," Bucky began again, "I was mind controlled by HYDRA for over 60 years. They made me kill people I didn't want to kill. I did some _horrible _things."

Loki inclined a slender eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Steve said something about you being under the influence of this.. sceptre. Right?"

"Yes," Loki answered reluctantly. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"So we aren't that different," the other man concluded. Loki scoffed.

"We are _very_ different," He huffed. "Tell me, Sargent, have you ever tried to rule an entire _planet?" _The way he'd said it made Loki sound like he was trying to compete, which he wasn't entirely against. Best to think he was confident about his.. situation.

"That I have not. But I have assassinated over 200 people- some of them innocents. But I'm not like that anymore. And I assume the only reason you're here is because you aren't, either."

Well, the mortal wasn't entirely wrong.

"Yes, well, I've got a brother to avenge," he muttered.

Bucky frowned. "Right. Your brother. Thor, right? I heard about that." There was a pause, and then, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Loki cleared his throat and didn't respond. Instead, he turned his head away and allowed his gaze to wander along the horizon.

"Well, I'm going inside," Bucky sighed, standing. Loki bobbed his head in acknowledgement but didn't stand to follow him. Instead, he remained in the field, examining each star. The constellations would never be the same as Asgard's, but there were a few similarities. Loki could swear he could see Yggdrasil, but couldn't be sure, so didn't think much of it.

Loki remained in this spot until sunrise. He watched the sky lighten, enjoying the solitude. After another hour of sitting there, Loki made his way back inside. He only made it a few steps inside when he saw Bruce appear from a hallway, peer down each corridor until their eyes met, and came rushing towards him.

"Loki! There you are," Bruce breathed. Loki inclined a brow.

"Can I help you?"

"We're going to start taking the stone out of Visions head, and Steve said you should be there since you know most about the stone's properties," Bruce explained quickly.

"Rogers using science terms?" Loki couldn't help but bark a short laugh.

"Well, he didn't say it exactly like that—you know what I mean. Just get your ass down there."

Loki smirked. "Yeah, yeah, on my way."

...

_**ONE FAVOURITE = You Give Bucky a High-Five! **_

_**ONE REVIEW = You Give Shuri a High-Five! (because Shuri is just amazing )**_


	6. We All Still Die

**AN: Yeah, I know, I'm back. I don't know what the hell happened, but I never posted chapter 6. So, here it is. I'd just like to say, before you read this... ****_work of art_**** (not rlly but y'know,) I really hate writing fight scenes. Well, I don't hate it, it's more like I'm bad at it. This is my first fight scene is quite a bit, so please let me know what you think! And if it sucks... I told you so. **

**_Chapter 6 ~ We All Still Die_**

When he reached the lab, Vision was laying down on a table. The young girl—Shuri, her name was, had her face close to the Mind Stone embedded on Vision's forehead. Loki hovered over her shoulder, watching the stone blink when she tapped it.

"Fascinating," she murmured.

"Careful," Loki warned. "The stone could react badly and take control of you."

Shuri jumped up in surprise, clearly not having noticed Loki peering over her shoulder.

"Don't scare me like that, alien!" She gasped, holding a hand on her heart.

"Alien," Loki scoffed. "Hardly. Now, are we going to get on with this?"

Shuri nodded. "Right. I can get the stone out, but since Dr. Banner created Vision the _hard_ way," she shot a glare in Bruce's direction, "it'll take me longer."

"Wonderful," Loki muttered.

"But you can do it?" Rogers prompted.

"Yes, of course I can do it!" Shuri replied, slipping over to holographic screenings of the stones energy.

"How long will it take?" T'Challa asked, crossing his arms.

"A few hours, at most," Shuri replied with a shrug.

Outside the window, Loki watched with growing horror as familiar shuttles hurtled towards the buildings of Wakanda. Several were stopped by a blue force field, exploding and sending debris showering over the top of the dome. Others landed outside of the barrier.

"I don't think we have a few hours," Wanda said, a frown forming on her face.

"Get started, Shuri," T'Challa ordered, turning away from the window. "Engage all defences," he added to Okoye, who was standing just behind him. Turning to Rodgers, he demanded, "and get this man a shield!"

It was decided Wanda would stay so she'd be ready to destroy the Mind stone. Loki marched after everybody else filing out of the room, cape billowing behind him. Bucky, Sam, Rhodey and Romanoff met them outside, all looking prepared for battle. Loki watched the shuttles sit idle outside of the barrier. Rogers broke away from the group to walk with Bucky as they followed T'Challa towards where the shuttled lay dormant. Loki fell in step beside Bruce.

"So, Hulk seems to be making himself known as a wimp," Loki commented. "How do you intend to fight this battle?"

Bruce stopped dead in his tracks.

"Shit!" He exclaimed loudly. Romanoff turned her head with a smirk.

"Language," she hummed. Bruce continued to follow, and Loki could hear Rogers bickering with Romanoff at the front of the group.

"Are we _still_ going on with that?"

"Yes, we are."

"That was years ago! The joke is dead, Nat."

"The joke will never die."

"Oh, for Odin's sake," Loki growled, "could we focus on the task at hand?" _They are like squirrels,_ Loki thought bitterly, _distracted by the smallest of things. _

"I've got an idea, Bruce," Rhodey spoke up, falling back to walk with them.

Wakandan warriors had met up with the rogue Avengers, and they now were all lined up facing the shuttles. Loki stood along the front lines, having summoned his horned-crown and a pair of daggers to his hands. Bruce wore one of Stark's suits. The Hulkbuster, it was called. Loki found it quite ironic.

Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian had appeared from the line of trees, slowly approaching the barrier.

"Well, shall we greet our guests?" Rogers offered.

"We shall," T'Challa agreed. He, Rogers, and Romanoff started off to meet the two Black Order members at the border.

Loki tightened his grip on his daggers, watching the exchange.

"Hey, tall, dark, and handsome!" Sam called, shuffling up beside him. Loki exhaled slowly and turned his head.

"Yes?"

"Cap told me to give you this. Never got the chance to, so you can have it now." He held out a small comm piece, and Loki reluctantly took it from his hand.

"It's so we can—"

"I know what it is," Loki snapped, placing the piece of technology in his ear. Sam eyed him cautiously, before returning to where he stood prior.

Loki turned his attention back to the exchange, but the three Avengers were already returning.

"Did they surrender?" Bucky asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Not exactly," Rogers sighed, giving his old friend a pat on the back.

Loki frowned and tightened his grip on his dagger.

Proxima raised her sword, before promptly slashing it into the ground. The shuttles groaned, and Loki could hear faint snarling.

"Oh, joy," he muttered on his breath, lifting his chin.

A few moments of silence passed, when several alien creatures came charging out of the trees. They were followed by several hundred more, all snarling like rabid dogs. The aliens clashed with the barrier, all struggling to get in. Some limbs got through, but the barrier promptly closed around them and severed them from their bodies.

"They're killing themselves," Okoye murmured.

A few aliens heaved themselves through the barrier. Sam was already in the sky and picked them off.

"_Uh, guys,_" someone sounded over the comms. "_We have a problem_."

Loki followed everybody's gaze to where some of the creatures were circling to the other side. Closer to the Mind Stone.

"_If they get through, there'll be nothing between them and Vision._"

T'Challa did something with his comm unit, before murmuring into it. He then proceeded to chant in a language Loki was unfamiliar with, his words echoing around the Wakandan warriors. Finally, T'Challa crossed his arms in an X, a black cat-like helmet forming over his head.

"Wakanda forever!" The king shouted, and then everybody was charging. A small gap in the barrier opened, letting the snarling creatures through.

Loki easily passed several others, keeping pace with the Captain and T'Challa. He flipped a dagger around in his hand and leapt into the battle.

Loki was blinded by rage and the heat of battle. His body moved on its own, familiar by now with fighting after centuries of doing it. He kicked a few creatures back, stabbed another few. Loki had always been told his fighting style looked more like a dance, with his intercut footwork and the way he spun around the block attacks. With graceful movements, he easily fended off his attackers. He was collecting a steady pile of corpses, pushing through the mass of hundreds. Over the comms, he could hear shouted orders and warnings, but didn't pay too much attention to them.

All he could focus on was watching each and every one of these disgusting beats _die._

As he fought on, killing several creatures at a time now with powerful blasts of seidr, Loki couldn't help his mind from wandering to Thor. How his adopted brother would've loved slaying these beasts.

Loki felt the familiar feeling of rage bubble beneath his skin and sent a power surge of green magic in all directions with a roar. Several bodies dropped dead.

"_Guys, I think we need to fight harder,_" Sam sounded over the comms. "_The Norse God is putting us all to shame!_"

"Did I not tell you to trust my rage?" Loki asked breathlessly, ducking out of the way of a flying spear.

"_Good god, would you like to do this all yourself?_" Rhodey's laugh sounded in his ear as he shot above him.

"I'd rather not," Loki grunted, kicking away another creature after it latched onto his arm with sharp fangs. Loki ducked under a leaping beast as it lunged for a Wakandan warrior fighting behind him. The warrior was practically drowning in blood, being overwhelmed by the creatures. Loki, while fending off a foe of his own with his daggers, sent seidr to the young warrior. A few of the creatures he opposed dropped dead, and he shot him a grateful smile.

"To you're right," Loki warned a second too late as an alien creature leaped onto him and ripped into his throat. Loki winced at the bloody scene before him. Amongst the raging sound of battle, Loki watched Proxima going about, easily killing Wakandan warriors as she passed. Loki's lip curled into a sneer as he fought towards her.

He cleared a path towards his enemy until he came face-to-face with her.

"Trickster," Proxima greeted, stabbing a fallen warrior in the gut.

"Proxima," Loki snarled in return, turning his blade out.

"Have you come for round two?" Proxima mocked. "Here to show you're not as much of a failure as everybody thinks, little Trickster? Your people didn't stand a chance. How could _you_?" Loki let out a cry of rage and lunged at her. His two daggers clashed with her staff, and he leaned in to snarl in her face. Proxima smirked and kicked behind his knee. Loki lost his balance and stumbled back. Proxima used that time to land a few good blows on him, tearing his cape and clothing and leaving a nasty gash in his side. Loki spat out a bit of blood before driving a dagger into her gut.

Before the dagger made contact, however, Proxima hit him square in the face and send him reeling backwards into the dirt. Loki spluttered, blood collecting on his lips. Proxima leaned over him, a grin settled on her features.

"I could kill you right now, but I promised I'd save the deed for father," Proxima growled, kicking him one last time in the side. And then she disappeared. Loki sat up with a pained grunt, every part of his body aching. His bleeding side felt numbed from pain, but he staggered to his feet anyways.

Before he could process much else, Loki watched large mechanical blades burst through the ground. He wrinkled his nose in irritation, stumbling into the centre of the battle-field.

"_Fall back!"_ T'Challa yelled frantically over the comms. Wanda had appeared to stop one of the large blades before it hit Romanoff, but there were still several more. Okoye screeched something Loki couldn't make out and dove out of the way. Loki channelled whatever was left of his seidr, letting his daggers fall at his feet. He held out his hands, green spreading out from his palms and wrapping around the large weapon before it could crush any more people. The machine stopped in his tracks, Loki breathing heavily.

"Wanda, little help?" Loki panted, his vibrant green magic flickering slightly.

"_On my way. Hold on a little longer," _Wanda replied, and Loki watched her hurry away from where she was to take care of the giant death-wheel he was holding off. Loki was losing a grip on his magic much quicker than he would've liked. Finally, after what seemed like centuries, Wanda's scarlet magic wrapped around his own and the machine was flung away with a grunt on Wanda's part. Before anything else could happen, the young Avenger was gone.

Loki let out a breath, his hands falling limply to his sides. Smeared across his face was a mixture of blood, sweat and dirt. Loki quickly regained his two fallen daggers and turned just in time to stop one of the creatures from knocking him over. He drove it and it's companion back, quickly killing the two, before they were replaced by four. The number of enemies he faced kept growing. Loki frantically looked around to see everybody having the same issue.

"_There's too many of them!"_ Bruce yelled over the comms. Loki was forced to the ground, panting. He held up his two blades defensively, summoning an illusion further away. The creatures turned to look at the illusion, so Loki fabricated more. They circled all around him, cackling. The creatures look extremely confused, and Loki used the opportunity to drive his blades into their skulls. Panting, he hauled himself to his feet and brushed a stray strand of dark hair from his face.

"We're gravely outnumbered," Loki panted.

"_No shit, Sherlock!_" Rhodey snapped back at him, and Loki rolled his eyes. Loki quickly dodged an attack, doing his best to fend off as many creatures as he could. Bodies of fallen warriors and creatures alike littered the battlefield, and Proxima's army didn't stop coming.

_We're going to lose,_ Loki thought frantically. And then, there was a familiar crack of thunder.

Loki whipped his head around, his breath catching in his throat at the familiar colors of the Bifrost. An electrically charged axe whipped out from the light, taking out several enemies. Loki had to duck to avoid having his head lobbed of, but he still couldn't help the laugh of relief that escaped his lips.

The Bifrost retracted, revealing Thor as he caught his newly-obtained axe. A raccoon-type creature leapt off his shoulder and stood tall next to him, cocking a blaster, while a tree roared beside the pair.

_"Ha, you guys are so screwed now!"_ Bruce laughed over the comms unit.

"Bring me Thanos!" Thor roared, running forwards. Another crack of thunder, and Thor had slammed his axe into the ground and taken out hundreds more of the creatures.

Loki didn't realise his feet were moving until he found himself face-to-face with his brother. Thor was grinning madly, and Loki took another several steps forwards. Loki narrowed his eyes, and then punched his brother across the jaw.

"Ow!" Thor yelped, his hand finding his jawline. "What was that for?"

"For making me believe you were dead," Loki grumbled, sending a blast of seidr behind him as another beast charged at him.

"You should know better than anyone it takes more than a mad man to kill me," Thor huffed, kicking another enemy away. "Why are we talking about me? I thought _you_ had died!"

"You sent me away like the idiotic oaf you are! Of course I'm alive!" Loki snapped.

"I sent you away to keep you from dying! Again!" Thor argued, flinging his axe away to take out several enemies. "Watch yourself," Thor warned a moment before his axe came flying towards Loki's head. Loki ducked with a yelp.

"For someone who wants me alive, you're doing a great job almost killing me!" Loki grumbled, straightening up and dodging savage teeth from chewing his gut out.

"This is a battle-zone, brother," Thor said between swings of his axe. "You must always be aware of your surroundings." As he spoke, a stray creature latched on to Thor's cape. Loki snorted with laughter as Thor shook it off and killed it.

"What was that about '_being aware of your surroundings,'_ brother?"

"Not another word," Thor growled irritably_._

Loki couldn't help but smile at his brother.

"It's good you have you back," he sighed, sending a dagger flying directly at a creatures head.

"Your side is bleeding," Thor commented from where he fought beside Loki.

"That it is."

"You should be more careful."

"Careful? In a _battle_? Who _are _you?" Loki shot back, turning to send his brother a playful glare.

"I am your older brother, and I have my concerns," Thor huffed.

"Adopted," Loki uttered under his breath, casually picking off several more creatures.

"Still brothers," Thor hummed. Loki smiled. He missed the banter between him and Thor more than he thought he ever could. He fought back-to-back with his brother, dancing around lashing claws and sharp, snapping teeth.

"_Guys, we've got a Vision situation," _Rhodey sounded over the comms. "_To the East, in the wooded area near the start of the brook."_

_"Somebody get the Vision!" _Rogers called between breaths.

"_I'm on my way," _Wanda replied, before a pained grunt could be heard. Loki winced.

"I've got a Mind Stone to protect," he declared to his brother, dipping his head. Thor nodded, and Loki was about to break off from the battle and head to where Rhodey had said Vision was when Thor caught his wrist.

"Be careful," Thor murmured, his eyes darkening.

"When am I not?" Loki replied with a smirk, before hurrying off.

When he finally fought his way to where the Vision was, Rogers was already there fending off Corvus Glaive. Loki darted behind Glaive and drove both daggers into his shoulders. Glaive snarled in pain and reached around to fling Loki off. As Loki hit the ground, he could hear the thump of another body against the forest floor. Loki sat up to see Corvus Glaive dead on the ground, Vision standing over the dead body.

"I told you to run," Rogers muttered.

"We don't trade lives, Captain," Vision replied breathlessly. Loki staggered to his feet, nodded at the two, before heading towards the flash of red armour through the trees.

Loki stumbled into another clearing where Bruce was fighting it out with Cull Obsidian.

"Little help?" Bruce grunted as he threw a punch at Obsidian.

"Sure." Loki darted into action. While Bruce and Obsidian were wrestling, each struggling for dominance, Loki slid down on his knees and raked his blades behind Obsidian's knees as he passed. Obsidian lost balance and fell, giving Bruce enough time to slap on one of the Hulkbuster hands.

"See ya!" Bruce shouted, smacking the hunk of metal on Obsidian's arm. The large alien went flying into the sky and exploded.

"Excellent work, Doctor," Loki panted, standing.

"Not too bad yourself," Bruce replied, and Loki could almost hear the smile in his voice.

And then Loki felt it.

Felt _him_.

"He's here," Loki breathed and whipped around. Behind the Captain, a blue cloud had appeared. Loki recognised it as the same as the Tesseract and winced. Soon enough, Thanos stepped out and surveyed the surroundings.

"_That's him, Steve_," Bruce whispered through the comms. Out of instinct, Loki got low and made his way to a nearby tree. Crouching behind the trunk, he peered out at the Mad Titan standing a few paces away. Panting, Loki turned his attention to the golden gauntlet on his right hand. He quietly counted each stone under his breath, then hissed out a curse.

_Thanos has five stones. _

If he got his hands on the Mind stone, it was all over. Loki couldn't let that happen. He watched as Rogers charged at the purple Titan, accompanied by Bruce. Bruce was smacked away easily and placed in the side of a mountain. Rogers held his ground and managed to barely fend off Thanos' attack for a few moments before being swatted aside. Loki turned to where Wanda was sitting with Vision.

"Wanda, destroy the stone, _now!"_ He whispered harshly into the comm, teeth clenched. When he got no response, he turned his attention towards Thanos. The Mad Titan was scanning the clearing, making a disappointed tutting noise.

"Where are you, little trickster?" Thanos growled, and Loki swallowed hard.

_Now or never. _

Loki snatched a nearby discarded sword from a fallen warrior. There was no way he'd stand a chance with two small daggers. The sword was made out of a material Loki had never seen and was covered in blood. Loki gripped the handle tight and took a deep breath.

"For Asgard," Loki murmured, before slipping away from his hiding place and lunging towards Thanos. Thanos had his back turned, but Loki's attack was stopped with a simple clench of his gauntlet. Loki was immediately frozen in place, blade outstretched to Thanos' neck.

"I thought you would've learned from your mistakes by now," Thanos sighed, turning to face the frozen god. Loki bared his teeth and struggled to move. With a faint smile, Thanos grabbed Loki by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

Loki felt the tight pressure against his wind-pipe, cutting off his oxygen. He gasped for breath, his hands scrabbling helplessly against the large purple hand around his throat. His eyes began to water against his will, and black dots danced around his vision. He kicked his legs, trying to do _something _to get himself out of the current situation. Norns, he couldn't _breathe-_

He was going to die.

After years and years of awaiting deaths dark grasp, Loki wasn't so sure he was ready to go anymore. He had more to live for these days. Loki clenched his teeth together and with whatever strength he had left, sent his seidr to a nearby rock. The rock shifted, then lifted steadily off the ground. It flew into the bushes, causing Thanos to turn his head.

While he was distracted, Loki repeated the action with his sword, discarded on the ground nearby, calling it to his hand.

As Thanos turned his head back, Loki choked out, "made you look." Before Thanos could react anymore, Loki drove the sword into whatever lump of flesh he could find that didn't belong to himself. Thanos dropped Loki, who began coughing madly and gasping for breath.

"That was a mistake, trickster," Thanos growled.

"Maybe," Loki rasped. "But at least you wont win." Thanos laughed.

"And how would you know that?"

Loki smirked, holding his likely bruised throat. Behind him, he could feel the energy of the Mind Stone as it shattered. He slowly turned his head to where Wanda stood, one hand raised to where Vision used to be.

"That's why," Loki replied, his voice hoarse.

Much to Loki's surprise, Thanos only chuckled. Slowly, Thanos made his way to where Wanda had crumpled to the ground in a sobbing mess. Loki watched in horror as a green ring formed around his gauntlet.

"No!" Wanda screamed, moments before Thanos turned his gauntlet. Loki felt the energy again, moving in reverse until it reformed Vision. Horrified, Loki could only watch Thanos pluck the Mind Stone from Vision as though nothing happened.

"No," Loki breathed. "Oh, Norns, no."

Thanos placed the final stone in his gauntlet, completed the set of six. The gauntlet glowed momentarily, all stones being united at last.

Loki was about to stumble to his feet and attempt one final thing to prevent the inevitable when he heard a crack of thunder. _Thor's_ thunder.

His brother had leaped into the air, axe in hand and lightning dancing around him. With a roar, Thor threw the axe at Thanos.

The axe hit the Mad Titan square in the chest. Loki laughed breathlessly. They could win.

Thor pushed the axe deeper into Thanos, eyes narrowed coldly. They murmured to each other, before Thanos limply raised his hand. Loki felt the breath catch in his throat-

_Snap._

**_ONE FAVOURITE_****_= Loki gets a gold star._**

**_ONE REVIEW_****_= Thor gets a smack over the head for miSSING- _**


	7. The Kids Aren't Alright

**_AN:_**** Yep! Finally posting the next chapter. It took me quite a while, because I was contemplating whether Loki would survive the snap or not. Finally made a decision, though, and I already have more exciting things outlined for future chapters. Yay!**

**pLEaSE tell me you guys have seen Captain Marvel? I saw it the day it came out and i flipping lOVED IT! Since we're moving away from the IW timeline, this is going to be turning into an Endgame prediction. **

**With the hints and photos Marvel gave us on the 26th, I've got a pretty good speculation.**

**(if i get Endgame right, i think i deserve a gold star. no? ok, i'll just earn a happy feeling. thats fine. not crying inside or anything)**

**Also, fair warning; I write in Thor's POV in this chapter. I really suck at writing Thor, but I needed to. So, sorry in advance all you Thor-lovers out there. I love Thor, too, I swear, but I just can't write him very well.**

**Anyways, here's your chapter!**

**_Chapter 7 ~ The Kids Aren't Alright_**

Loki was expecting some large explosion, a feeling, _something_ to happen after Thanos snapped his fingers, but nothing did. The only change was Thanos' gauntlet left a fried mess, mangled and deformed.

"What did you do?" Thor demanded. Thanos only laughed, and using the Space stone, disappeared from the scene.

And then Loki felt it.

It was like a wave crashed over him, momentarily drowning out all noise. When his hearing returned, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

Sometime within the few moments Loki's senses were drown out, Thor had come to crouch over him.

"-ki? Are you okay?" Thor had his hand placed on Loki's shoulder, looking quite concerned. Loki swatted his hand away.

"I'm fine," he huffed, his voice rasping in his bruised throat. Loki stood, stumbling only once, and looked around. Slowly, he staggered over towards Captain Rogers with Thor in pursuit.

"Thor? Where'd he go?" Rogers panted, looking mildly confused. When Thor didn't respond, Rogers repeated, "Where'd he go?"

Bucky, who was standing behind the dear Captain, lifted his hand in confusion.

"Steve?" He croaked, before falling to the ground as nothing but a mere pile of flakes.

"No, no, no!" Loki whispered, whipping around to watch several other's fade from existence as well. He saw T'Challa's black suit as he crouched in the bushes, and then the lack of it moments later. He saw Wanda look up to the sky moments before she disappeared too.

"Sam?" Loki could hear the faint call of Rhodey from in the trees. Immediately, his heart sank further. Thanos had won. He'd gotten what he'd wanted, and half of all living creatures had been eliminated from the universe.

Loki turned to Thor, who was standing next to him. His eyes—which he'd just noticed, he'd gotten his second eye back—were wide.

And then Loki felt.. strange.

He couldn't quite explain it. It was like he was being tugged away, but to where he wasn't sure. His seidr was going crazy.

His breath caught in his throat and he met Thor's eyes.

"No, Loki," Thor voice, barely a whisper, was all Loki heard besides his labored breathing as he stumbled again.

He could feel himself slipping away.

_Gods, _just when he thought he'd escaped death.

Everything was spinning. His body was numb. Loki found himself in his brother's arms, who was staring down at him anxiously.

"Just hold on, Loki," Thor croaked.

Loki managed a weak smile.

Oh, Norns, everything was numb, and he was slipping away, he _didn't want to die._ Not like this. He couldn't see; the world was slowly becoming more distant.

"Kill him for me, will you?" Loki managed. He didn't hear Thor's answer, as the world peeled away into never-ending darkness.

…

"Kill him for me, will you?" Loki gasped out. Thor swallowed hard and offered his fading younger brother his most convincing smile.

"We'll kill him together, brother," he assured. But, to his horror, Loki had already crumbled away in his arms. Thor could already feel the rage bubbling away beneath his skin and could hear the crackled of electricity around his body and the crack of thunder in the distance.

One would think it gets easier, watching his little brother die.

But this time he wouldn't be coming back.

Clenching his teeth, Thor stood. He forced a deep breath, feeling the sparks of electricity retreat back inside his body.

"Thor?" Rogers gasped. Thor looked up from his brother's dust-pile. "What the hell just happened?"

Thor shook his head, looking back at what remained of his baby brother.

"Thanos has wiped out half of the universe," he murmured after a moment. "This is his idea of _balance._"

The bushes rustled, and at first Thor thought it was another Outrider. He called Stormbreaker to his side, but relaxed when the Rabbit shuffled into the clearing.

"Groot just.. disappeared," the creature murmured. Thor nodded.

"I am sorry, sweet rabbit."

There was silence as the rest of the fallen heroes gathered around. Rogers was still crouched in front of his former friend's pile, Thor was staring down at Loki's pile, while everybody else circled around.

It was the Captain that spoke.

"We lost."

…

_Darkness. That's all that it was. Everything was black._

_Was this what it was like to truly die?_

_It felt like he was falling. Falling, and falling, and falling—_

Loki gasped and sat bolt upright. His eyes snapped open immediately and he surveyed his surroundings. He was sitting against a rock, just on the edge of a forest of some kind.

But wait, that couldn't be right, could it?

He was dead. Shouldn't he be in Valhalla?

Struggling to steady his breath, he brought his hands up to his line of sight and turned them over to inspect them. He wasn't fading anymore. And he was.. alive?

He didn't feel alive. He felt like someone had just trampled him several times with one of those Midgardian creations known as the c_ar._

Loki groaned and rested back against the rock. The sky had a strange orange hue to it. It didn't look natural.

So he _was _dead.

This didn't look like Valhalla.

Once he had mustered up the strength, Loki heaved himself to a stand. It took him a few moments to find his footing, but he did, and stared into the vast number of trees before him. The looming branches seemed to be calling him in, urging him forwards.

_Ah, what the Helheim?_

It couldn't hurt; he needed to know where he was, anyways. Perhaps he'd find his mother in that forest, if he was truly dead.

So, Loki started forwards. He set off into the trees, listening out for any signs of company.

He didn't hear anything except the crunching of leaves beneath his boots. He sighed. He was in for a long walk, and he knew it.

_What does a God have to do for a break in this wretched world?_

…

The remaining Avengers had trudged back to the city. The general, Okoye, led the way, followed closely by Steve and Rhodey. Natasha trudged on next to Bruce, and Thor took up the rear. Rocket was perched on his shoulder. An uncomfortable silence had wrapped around the group for the whole trip.

When they'd entered the building the General was leading them to, they saw several piles of dust littering the ground. Thor swallowed hard.

"_You should have gone for the head."_

"Thor?" Rocket prompted. "You alright there, bud? You zoned out for a minute."

"Yes, sweet rabbit," Thor replied quickly, forcing a smile.

"For God's sake—stop calling me 'rabbit.' My name's Rocket."

"Right. My deepest apologies, Rocket."

Rocket nodded his approval and scrambled down from Thor's shoulder. Thor slowly walked over to where Bruce stood, watching from a distance the exchange between Okoye and Steve.

"What're they talking about?" Thor murmured to his friend.

"I don't know. All I heard was 'sorry,' and 'compound,'" Bruce shrugged. "My guess is Steve's apologizing for the loss and we're going back to the Compound. We need to figure out how the rest of the world is taking this; New York is probably in Chaos."

Thor nodded.

"I wouldn't be surprised.

They waited for a couple more moments, before Steve dipped his head to the general and turned back to the group of waiting Avengers.

"Let's go home."

…

Loki had been walking for ages, and all he found was more and more _trees. _It was just an endless forest, it seemed. He felt like he'd be walking for several days if he kept going. So, he sat with a grunt at the roots of a tree and inspected himself.

All of his wounds from the battle were still there.

_Strange…_

He'd assumed he wouldn't have to worry about that once he'd died. Apparently not. Unless he wasn't dead.

But he _was _dead. He'd died in Thor's arms, right?

Right?

Thinking about it made his head ache. This wasn't like the last time he'd thought he'd died, but actually hadn't; when he'd been stabbed by the Dark Elf, he'd woken up in the same spot he'd fallen. But this time, he wasn't even sure if he was on Midgard. He could be anywhere.

Loki rubbed his temples with a small sigh. His life just kept getting harder and harder.

Just then, he thought he heard something. It was small and almost unnoticeable, but not to him. Someone was here.

Without thinking, Loki conjured a pair of daggers and stood, scanning the trees around him for any signs of movement.

The sound came again. A small rustle.

Loki whipped his head towards the sound, tightening his grip on his weapons.

Another rustle; louder this time. Loki clenched his teeth.

"Make your presence known, now!" Loki called, eyes narrowed dangerously. Just then, a young boy peered out from behind a tree. He looked utterly petrified.

Loki's stance loosened, and he put one dagger away. He kept the second one, just in case.

"It's okay," Loki prompted. "You may come out."

The boy did as instructed, slowly approaching the God. As he got closer, Loki noticed the several scrapes and cuts on his face. His brown hair was littered with twigs, and his eyes glimmered with fear.

"W-who are you?" The boy murmured. Loki smiled and crouched down, becoming level with the young child.

"My name's Loki. What's yours?"

"Cooper. Cooper Barton."

…

Once they'd arrived at the Compound, the rest of the day was a blur.

Thor had changed into Midgardian clothes, for the time being, and had spent most of his time alone. _Brooding, _as Loki would call it.

He'd found a quiet room and sat, staring blankly at the ground.

It finally sank in. Everything that he'd lost. It _truly _sank in.

He'd lost his father.

His mother.

His brother.

His world.

His people.

His friends.

Oh, Norns, his _friends. _Thor didn't truly know how many of them survived. He'd seen Heimdall get stabbed through the heart when Thanos first attack. But Valkyrie and Korg were still out there.

Thinking of friends, Thor wondered if Jane had survived the snap. Perhaps her, Darcy, and Dr. Selvik were together. Or maybe a few of them had turned to dust. He really didn't want to think about it.

The world was in chaos, and Thor was sulking in a room by himself. He breathed a laugh, his body shaking with the effort. He could almost hear his brother's chides now.

_"Get of your behind, you oaf, and do something about it! The universe won't fix itself!"_

The door to the room opened, and Thor looked up. Rocket had climbed up the door, by the look of the claw marks, to turn the door handle. Thor smiled.

"Your little friend-group over there wants to go check on the city. New Pork, I think they said." Rocket shrugged. "These Terrans don't know how to name a city," he mumbled.

"I believe they were referring to New York, my friend," Thor chuckled. He stood, passing his new axe Stormbreaker on his way out. "Let us go, sweet rabbit."

"Not a rabbit."

"Right. My bad."

They met the rest of the remaining Avengers in the lobby.

"I've checked the News," Rhodey reported. "The place is practically in flames."

Steve nodded, turning to the rest of the group. Thor met his gaze steadily.

"Listen up. There's going to be a lot of confused and terrified citizens, looking for friends and family. Our jobs is to make sure their safe, not inform them half of the universe is gone. The time for that will come, but later."

A chorus of agreements rippled around the group.

"Alright. Romanoff, you fly the Quinjet," Steve ordered, turning to the ex-assassin.

"Aye, aye, Captain," she murmured, brushing passed Thor on her way out the door.

"Everyone else, suit up."

And with that, the group dispersed.

…

The boy, Cooper, looked extremely shaken. Loki couldn't help but take pity on him. He'd led Cooper down to a nearby stream, one dagger still in hand in case something else decided to explode from the bushes and cleaned off a cut on the boy's cheek.

"How'd you get this?" He asked as he worked. Cooper frowned.

"I fell," he replied simply. Loki nodded, and didn't push.

"Did you see anybody else besides me?" Norns, he hoped he had. He wasn't good with children, especially with Barton's child.

Loki prayed that the Hawk wasn't here, either. That'd earn him an arrow in the eye for sure.

At first, when the boy had stated his name, Loki had just brushed it off as a coincidence. But the more he looked, the more he could recognize Agent Barton.

"Well, I saw two people.." the boy murmured. Loki let out a breath and smiled. Perhaps he'd be able to figure out what in the Nine Realms was happening with more than just himself.

"What did they look like? Did you see?"

"I didn't. I only heard them. I-I think they saw me. They called out to me, but I got scared and ran away," Cooper admitted.

"Okay. That's okay," Loki assured, straightened up after washing the faint trace of blood off his hands. "Which way did you come from, Cooper? Could you lead me there?"

The boy nodded and stood as well. He didn't seem as scared anymore. Loki could tell he was trying to be brave. He admired the young child's courage.

"This way."

Cooper set off into the trees, and Loki followed.

Perhaps when he saw who Cooper saw, he'd be able to determine where in the Nine Realms they were—if they were even _in _the Nine Realms. Loki couldn't be sure anymore. The forests reminded him of Alfheim, but Alfheim did not have an orange-tinted sky.

Soon, Cooper halted at a thick line of undergrowth.

"They were in this clearing," Cooper whispered. Loki nodded.

"Remain here," he ordered, summoning his second dagger. He crouched down, tightening his grip on his blades, and burst through the bushes.

He was with several bullets, which he deflected with his seidr. In the heat of the attack, he didn't have time to look at who it was he was fighting. Instinct took over, and soon he had kicked one of the men away and pinned the other to the ground with a blade pressed to his neck.

Loki blinked in surprise when he found that underneath him was none other than Bucky Barnes.

"Okay, okay, we get it. You're better than us. Can you let me up now?" Bucky asked in a huff, but Loki could tell the Sargant was glad to see him.

"How was I supposed to know it was you?" Loki shot back, standing up. "I was met with gunshots."

"That was my fault. Sorry," the other man croaked.

"Damn right it was," Bucky retorted. The second man sat up, and Loki smiled. Sam Wilson.

"Hey, well _I'm _sorry! I just saw some dude with knives charge out of the bushes! Of course I'd _shoot at him!" _Sam shot back. "What was I supposed to do, let him _stab _me?"

Bucky was about to reply when the bushes behind them shook again. Loki nodded at them to lower their weapons.

"You may come out now, Cooper," he called. Sure enough, the boy's head peeked through the undergrowth. Loki beckoned to him, and he scrambled out into the open.

"That was _so _cool!" He gushed. "How did you block those bullets?"

"Magic," he replied simply, earning an eye-roll from Sam.

"Who's this?" Bucky asked, smiling at the boy.

"Cooper Barton. I have reason to believe he is my Hawk's child," Loki replied, waving his hands to rid of his daggers.

"Hawk?" Sam asked in confusion. "There's another bird?"

Cooper nodded with an enthusiastic smile. "Yeah! My dad works for the Avengers!" He exclaimed proudly.

"I think he means Clint," Bucky informed, turning to Sam.

"Oh, arrow dude! Yeah, I remember him."

"Jesus, you sound like Lang," Bucky muttered, and Sam gave him a shove.

"How about we refrain from killing each other, hm?" Loki offered, eyes narrowed.

"No promises," the two men said in unison, and Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

Now he had two _more _children to deal with. Joy to the blessed world.

…

When the Quinjet descended into the city, it was in ruins. Cars had crashed due to their drivers turning to dust; Helicopters had crashed into buildings from the same problem, and people were running around the streets screaming.

It reminded Thor of the Chitauri attack, seeing New York like this.

He followed the rest of the team off the Quinjet, Stormbreaker in hand. As the screams reached his ears, he winced.

"We'll split up," Steve decided. Thor admired how the Captain seemed so calm after he'd just watched several friends turn to dust. But maybe he wasn't calm. Thor was never very observant. Perhaps Steve was just pushing past his own problems so he could be strong for others.

Maybe that's what Thor should do, too.

He cleared his throat and made his way towards a crash of some sorts, Rocket on his heels. The scene was a bloody mess—literally. Two vehicles were smashed into each other, dented horrifically. One of them was on fire. One of the passengers had gotten out and sat on the side of the street. Blood trickled down her temple.

In the second car, there was still someone behind the wheel. Thor frowned; the door was blocked.

The Thunderer simply kicked the debris out of the way to allow the door to swing open, while Rocket hung back; he was technically an alien, after all. There was no telling how the people would react.

"H-he just.. vanished," the woman from the first car was mumbling. Thor crouched down in front of her.

"Are you injured?"

The woman shook her head. Thor nodded, and the woman looked up.

"My husband t-turned to dust," she whispered. "What the hell is going on?"

Thor swallowed. Hard.

"I cannot tell you that. Not at the moment. I'm sure the situation will be disclosed to the public soon. Now, however, we just need to make sure everyone else is okay."

The woman nodded. It didn't even seem like she'd registered anything Thor had just said. He offered a small smile, before straightening and moving towards Rocket.

"They all good?" Rocket asked, and Thor frowned. "Well, aside the fact that they probably just watched someone turn to dust like a vampire."

"None of them are seriously injured, no."

Rocket nodded. "Wonderful."

Before they could move on, a voice sounded through the comms unit.

_"Uh, guys? I think you all want to come to my location. **Now.**"_

Thor looked down at Rocket, who shrugged. The pair made their way to where Rhodey was standing beside a discarded black SUV. Everyone else was crowding around, too. Thor couldn't see what was so special; there were several crashes like this all around the city.

It wasn't until he got closer that he noticed a small device laying at Rhodey's feet.

_On the screen was a blue and red logo with a golden star in the middle._

**_ONE FAVOURITE = _****one tear for Loki going poof ;;-;;**

**ONE REVIEW = one loud cheer for Captain _FREAKING _Marvel!**


	8. Legends Never Die

**_AN: _****Hiya, you guys! So, I deeply apologise about the issue with Chapter 7. It turns out it had somehow changed the font, which had caused the text to go haywire. It's fixed now, though, so if you haven't read it you can go do that now!**

**Anyways, i'd also like to say I appreciate all your kind reviews! I wouldn't have even known about the Chpt. 7 issue if you guys hadn't called it out. Thanks so much!**

**As you know, Endgame is drawing near. I am extremely excited for it, and am already on the look-out for tickets. Marvel have recently posted pictures, which I'm sure I mentioned in the last chapter, of our favourite characters. If you haven't seen them, pop onto their Instagram page. You'll find them. But what gained my attention was the fact the Valkyrie was there. In colour with the other ****_alive_**** characters, in fact! Therefore, I'm almost positive she'll play a role in Endgame. So, I'll throw our resident drunk bad-ass into the story in a chapter or two. That's gonna be fun.**

**ANYWAYS, I rant too much. You probably want to get to the chapter. Unless you just scrolled through, in which I don't blame you. Go on, read it. It's right there. I don't know why you're still here. gO!**

**_Chapter 8 ~ Legends Never Die_**

Steve picked up the device and looked at it strangely.

"What the hell even _is _that?" Rocket asked, climbing on Thor's shoulder to get a better look. "That's some old tech. You Terrans aren't very advanced."

"It's a communicator of some kind," Steve noted.

Natasha, who was peering inside the black SUV next to the fallen device, turned her head with a large frown on her face. Thor tilted his head slightly. What was bothering the ex-assassin? The fact that the vehicle was empty, or something else?

He got his answer when Natasha rejoined the group. She held a badge—a badge with a familiar logo.

"The owners of that device were previously a part of SHIELD," Natasha noted. She flipped the badge over, inspecting it.

"I thought SHIELD fell years ago?" Rhodey asked.

"It did," Steve answered.

"Some people might have kept their ID's, for one reason or another," Natasha added.

"What would they need it for?" Bruce questioned. Natasha's only response was a shrug.

"Well, we're wasting time standing around here," Steve decided. Thor voiced his agreement with a curt nod.

"The First Respondents seem to have most of it covered now, anyways," Rhodey added.

"Let's go see what this garbage-tech is," Rocket declared, leaping down from Thor's shoulder.

The group made towards the Quinjet and set off towards the Compound.

...

It had started to get dark, wherever in the universe Loki, Cooper, Bucky and Sam were. The group had started to set up a small campsite in the clearing.

Loki was watching Cooper arrange the firewood Sam and Bucky brought over. The young boy had his tongue out in a look of pure concentration, earning an amused smile from Sam.

"Careful, kiddo, or tall dark and handsome over there will chop your tongue out," Sam warned playfully. Loki shot him a glare.

"I would _not. _For one thing, he is but a child. For another, I only stab with reason," Loki fired back.

"Will you two shut up and get to work?" Bucky snapped, tossing a small piece of wood at Sam's head.

"Not everybody was blessed with a metal arm," Sam huffed. He disappeared into the undergrowth, returning a moment later with three pieces of firewood. Next to him, Bucky emerged with triple the amount.

"Show off!" Sam grunted as he dropped his wood.

"Just because I actually put effort into my biceps doesn't mean I'm showing off."

"Hey!" Sam barked. "I put effort into my biceps!"

"Really?" Bucky raised an eyebrow. "You seem like more of a quads kind of guy."

"I never skip leg day," Sam agreed proudly. "Besides, don't go bragging about your biceps. You were physically enhance plus you have a metal arm. That's not fair."

"Oh, for mercy's sake!" Loki snapped. "Will you two stop comparing bodies? I think figuring out where we are is more important."

"The fire is finished," Cooper announced with a proud smile. Bucky dropped once last piece of firewood.

"Nice work, squirt."

Cooper smiled under the mans praise, and Loki sighed. He flattened his palm and hovered it over the wood. A spark of green appeared at his fingertips as he sent his seidr towards the wood below. Within moments, a fire was steadily growing under his hand.

It was ironic that a Frost Giant like himself could create fire.

Cooper was marvelling over what just happened.

"How did you do that?" He demanded, eyes shining.

"Magic," was all Loki said, a smirk forming across his face as he sat back. Cooper puffed out his cheeks.

"Magic isn't real! It's just science we don't understand yet."

"You'd call my… abilities science?" Loki asked, eyebrows steadily climbing up his face.

"Mmhm!" Cooper hummed in response. Loki flung his hand to the side, sending a small green blast of energy hurling towards a nearby tree.

"Still think it's science?" He asked.

"Yup," Cooper replied, popping the 'p.'

"You mortals are persistent," Loki muttered.

"Aye, Lokes!" Sam shouted, poking out of the undergrowth near where he sent his magic. "Could you stop trying to burn the forest down?"

"No, I think I like burning the forest down," Loki replied, earning a huff from Sam.

"Fine. When you go up in flames, don't look to me for help," the Avenger mumbled, disappearing again. Loki sighed.

It was going to be a _long _night.

…

The ride in the Quinjet was filled with scientific talk that Thor had decided to tune out after a while. All he really needed to understand was that it was a communicator of sorts.

When they touched down at the compound, Bruce, Steve, and Natasha immediately went for the labs. Thor mulled about outside for a few minutes before heading inside. He needed to give himself time to process the situation.

A SHIELD agent had contacted someone. But who? Did they not believe in the Avengers to fix everything anymore?

Thor didn't blame them. They'd let half the universe be snapped away; he had little faith in _himself. _

And which SHIELD agent requested the backup? He only really knew three members of the former organisation, those people being Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury. But Coulson was dead, so it couldn't have been him.

That left Hill and Fury.

They were both possible options, but yet again, there could be other former agents out there.

Thor held on to his suspicions of Hill and Fury because he doubted anyone else as a suspect. Satisfied with himself, Thor followed everybody down to the labs.

When he got there, Bruce had already hooked the communicator up to some machine and was monitoring it. Steve hovered at his side, while Natasha stood staring at the device through the glass. Thor sat down at the back of the room, resting Stormbreaker next to him. Rocket was watching the rest of the group, rolling his eyes, and Rhodey was nowhere to be seen.

"Anything yet, Bruce?" Steve asked. Bruce frowned and shook his head slightly.

"All I know is this thing is transmitting an extremely strong signal out of our orbit. I don't know to who, or why."

"Out of our orbit?" Natasha asked, turning around.

"That's what I said," Bruce confirmed.

"But why would it-"

Before she could finish, there was a loud sound—almost like a harsh breeze. Thor stood, Rocket beside him.

Behind Steve stood a woman, long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. She glared daggers at Steve, who had turned around to look at her.

"Where. Is. Fury?" She drew out. Bruce and Natasha exchanged a look.

"And who the hell are you?" Rocket asked.

The woman glanced at the small creature, not seeming the little bit unsettled.

"My name is Carol Danvers, and I will ask only one more time; where is Fury?"

…

Throughout the night, Bucky and Loki had taken turns keeping watch. They weren't even sure if the precaution was necessary; they didn't know if anyone else was here besides themselves. But Bucky wanted to reassure Cooper, so Loki had grudgingly agreed to keep watch with him.

Sam refused, going on about how he 'needed his beauty sleep.'

"You think these looks just _happen, _Barnes?" Sam had scoffed.

Now, it was Loki's shift, and he was currently flicking his hand at the fire to fuel it. He could use to firewood Bucky and Sam worked '_oh so hard_' to collect, but he enjoyed seeing the look on Bucky's face when he refused to use it. Not only did the ex-assassin still not understand how Loki was able to keep the fire going, he was pissed his and Sam's (but mostly his,) hard work was for nothing.

_Ah, the little things, _Loki thought with a satisfied smirk.

The sun was steadily rising, though even at night the sky still had the strange orange hue. It was certainly curious. _Perhaps that will help me figure out where we all are, _Loki though as he stood to stretch his legs.

Once everybody else was awake, they set off into the forest again. They'd found a path of sorts. Though it was littered with tree roots and the odd stone here and there, it was much better than trudging through the undergrowth.

Bucky took the lead, brown eyes scanning the distant trees carefully. Sam walked just behind him, Cooper riding on his shoulders, and Loki took up the rear. Every so often, Loki would look behind his shoulder. He felt like something was peering at him through the looming trees. He shivered and kept walking, though he had his seidr ready at his fingertips.

They walked on for a few more minutes, until whatever Loki had felt peering at him made itself known. At the sharp rustle of the undergrowth, Loki whipped around and flung his hand out, sending a burst of green magic in the direction of the noise. Nothing happened; no pained grunt, no second rustle, nothing. Loki narrowed his eyes, glancing back at the rest of the groups curious stares.

"Y' all right, there, Lokes?" Sam asked. Loki scowled and nodded.

"Thought I heard something, is all," he mumbled.

As they continued on, Loki spared one last glance behind him. Lucky he did, or he wouldn't have seen the orange sparks—the beginnings of a portal.

None other than Stephen Strange stepped out of the portal, expression grim.

"Finally. Your magic is all over the place. I couldn't get a hold on your location," the doctor huffed.

"Stephen?" Loki couldn't hide the utter confusion in his voice. "What in the Nine Realms—you're here, too?"

"Unfortunately."

"Aye, who the hell is this guy?" Sam asked.

"Watch your language, Wilson," Bucky snapped, sparing Cooper a glance. The young boy only shrugged.

"I've heard worse," Cooper admitted. Sam let Cooper off his shoulders and rested one hand on his gun.

"I ask again; who is this?"

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange," Stephen answered with a nod. "And I need you all to come with me."

…

"We don't know," Natasha answered with a frown. "How do you know Fury?"

Thor noticed the resemblance between the communicators screen and this _Carol's _suit; blue and red with a gold star in the chest.

"We're friends," Carol replied, eyes narrowed. Natasha returned the gesture, pushing Steve out of the way to come face-to-face with the other woman.

"I'm sure I would remember you if that were the truth."

"I don't remember you either," Carol replied with a shrug.

"Why do you need Fury?" Bruce piped up, popping his head out from behind Steve.

"The real question is; why does _he _need _me?"_ Carol replied. She pushed past Natasha and made her way to the communicator behind the glass. "I gave him that device should he ever need me. He activated it, so something must be wrong. Anybody here care to fill me in?"

Thor swallowed hard and lowered his gaze. Everyone else seemed to share his discomfort, because there was only silence following the question.

"Since these morons don't feel like it, I'll help ya out, nice lady," Rocket decided, crossing his arms. "This giant purple jackass-Titan got his hand on all six Infinity Stone thingy's and wiped out half of the universe."

"Half of..?" Carol trailed off, her eyes briefly holding something that resembled horror. Rocket hummed his confirmation. Thor watched the exchange with interest. There was something about this woman that radiated power, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Steve cleared his throat.

"Why would Fury have you on-call, if you don't mind me asking?"

Carol smiled.

"That's simple. I stopped the Kree army from invading Earth, and he went against SHIELD to assist me. I told him should he ever need me again, give me a call. And he did."

"Wait, wait, wait," Rocket interrupted, raising his hand (paw?) "Kree? You know those jackasses?"

"I used to live there," Carol added. "And I agree. They _are _jackasses."

"You're Kree?" Rocket asked, screwing up his face in confusion. "You don't look Kree," he muttered under his breath.

"No, I'm not Kree. I'm human. I was taken from Earth after an… accident, and the Kree tried to turn me into their secret weapon," Carol huffed with a roll of her eyes.

"What kind of accident?"

"I don't have time for this, Raccoon. We have a universe to bring back," Carol snapped.

"Raccoon?" Rocket scoffed. "I'm not no raccoon, lady. The name's Rocket."

"Moving on," Natasha sighed. "You think we can bring everybody back?" Her voice had a hint of hope, something Thor couldn't help but break a smile at.

"Well, sure. I don't see why not. You say he used the Infinity Stones?" Carol asked, turning back to Rocket. Thor answered for him.

"He did."

Carol raised an eyebrow. "And who would you be?" She asked, taking a step forward. Thor remained straight faced, even as she was inches from his face. They both stood, eyes unblinking. The room was silent around them, almost as though everybody else was holding their breath.

Then, Thor raised his arm and opened his palm, calling Stormbreaker over from the other side of the room. Carol spared a glance at his arm, watching the axe fly into his open palm, though her eyes remained unblinking.

_Impressive. _

Thor brought Stormbreaker in front of him and leaned on it, turning his head to Steve.

"I like this one," he decided, cracking a smile.

…

The group of four stepped through Stephen's portal, all a little reluctant. Loki had kept one dagger out, just in case they were being tricked. He watched the doctors every move for a few moments, before sparing a glance of their surroundings.

Stephen wasn't alone; he had another boy Loki didn't recognise with him. The boy wasn't as young as Cooper but was still younger than the rest of the group. Cooper and the other boy were talking, while Sam, Bucky, Stephen and himself stood in an awkward circle.

"So," Loki started, "want to introduce us to your companion over there?"

The boy seemed to have heard, because he turned and smiled nervously.

"Oh, uh—I'm Pe- "the boy glanced at Sam and Bucky, before finishing his cut off sentence with, "Spider-man."

Loki blinked. This didn't look like the child in the blue-and-red suit. Instead, this boy wore an armoured suit more like Stark's.

"I remember you," Sam decided. "You're that kid from the Airport."

"Yep. That's me," Spider-man confirmed.

"I didn't know you were so young," Bucky muttered.

"I'm not young! I'm a man! Spider-_man! _Is that really a hard concept?"

"Moving away from introductions," Stephen interjected, "I believe we should start looking for the others."

"The others? How do you know there are any others here?" Loki asked, crossing his arms.

"Simple. I looked into the future. Surely you, in all your Godly glory, know where we are?"

Loki frowned thoughtfully and moved his gaze away. _Did _he know where they were? Loki skimmed over the information in his head, blocking out the conversations around him.

Thanos obtained all the Infinity Stones; Power, Stone, Reality, Time, Mind, and Soul. _Soul. _Thanos snapped his fingers, and everybody faded away. He _used _the stones, specifically Soul. His mind flickered back to when he first saw the sky, the faint orange hue on the horizon. The color matched that of the Soul Stone.

His eyes widened and he looked up to find Stephen staring at him intently.

"We're in the Soul Stone, aren't we?" He breathed. Stephens response was a solemn nod.

"You're as smart as you look, surprisingly."

"What's that supposed to mean, wizard?" He snapped.

"Hey, you guys done staring into each other's eyes?" Sam called. Somehow, the rest of them had moved away. Perhaps Stephen shooed them off as he was lost in his mind palace.

"Very," Loki huffed, shooting one last glare at Stephen before slipping in between Bucky and Spider-man. "Let's go find some dead people, then, shall we?" He smirked, looking around the circle of others for nods of agreement.

Instead, they voiced their opinions.

"Why not?"

"I guess."

"We're dead? Uh—I mean, yeah! Lets go."

"Hell yeah!" Spider-man declared.

"Watch your mouth, young man," Stephen scolded.

"You're not my _dad,_" Spider-man huffed.

"Oh, well, Tony is. And he'd kill me if I didn't say anything."

"I thought you hated each other?"

"Mildly dislike. Once you get over his ego, he isn't bad."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?"

And then they set off.

_**ONE FAVOURITE = **_**one Tylenol for the headache Loki is bound to get at some point**

_**ONE REVIEW =**_ **Carol gets a gold star for not being intimidated by Thor (good job bb im proud) **


	9. Killer In The Mirror

**_AN:_****_ Hi! So, yeah, not dead (yet.) I had a little bit of a... _****situation ****_where i couldn't, y'know, use my brain. I like to call it... wRItErS bLoCK! Its a horrid disease that millions of writers across the globe suffer from! O NO! Basically, I was dying. Whoopee. (that wasn't enthusiasm but i mean ok) So, with all that I had, i wrote this chapter. So don't blame me if its bad. Also, its pretty fucking long. I didn't realise how long it actually is until i put it in the copy-n-paste thingy. so i didn't even have to keep writing as long as i did, i could have just stopped and put it out to the world but my stupid ass kept going. you're welcome. anyways im tired so, you can have the chapter now-_**

**_wAIT WE NEED TO DISCUSS THE NEW TRAILERS FOR ENDGAME AND THIS STORY ALMOST FORGOT SMH_**

_**ok so if you don't get on the internet much, you wont know what im talking about, but its ok bc im basically gonna explain it. if you haven't seen this new released clip, **__you're dead to me.__** ok. so, Marvel recently released a clip that i tried my best to throw in this chapter. But, you see, i realised afterwards that there was a time-skip that i missed. (fml)**_ **_so what i ask of you is that you pRETEND i put in a time-skip somewhere before this situation. use your imagination, i guess, i don't know. im tired. and im rambling. hOW DO YOU RAMBLE THIS MUCH WHEN YOUR TYPING?_**

**_jesus ok just- read the chapter. please. _**

**_and don't kill me bc im already dying ok moving on-_**

**_Chapter 9 ~ Killer in the Mirror_**

The remaining Avengers, plus Carol and Rocket, had all gathered in the common area. Carol had changed out of her suit and was wearing something more casual. Steve sat on one of the sofas next to Natasha, who had her arms crossed. Bruce was sitting on an armchair with his head in his hands, a holographic image of those who are missing in front of him. Rocket was fiddling with his gun, earning a look from Rhodey—the former army soldier was obviously cautious about the weapon going off, and Thor didn't blame him. Rocket wasn't exactly… responsible.

Thor himself stood beside the chair Bruce sat in, leaning on Stormbreaker. He let his gaze sweep around the quiet team sitting around the room, before puffing out a breath.

"We aren't going to get anywhere sitting in silence," Thor said, straightening off from his weapon.

"Well, where _are _we going to get?" Bruce murmured. "Is there really much we can do?"

"Don't say that, Bruce," Natasha warned. "There's still hope."

"Hope?" Bruce repeated in disbelief. "Nat, you saw what he did to us in Wakanda. He swatted us away like flies!"

"Well, we can still fight," Rhodey said, frowning.

As they spoke, Thor slowly moved to sit down. He left Stormbreaker leaning against the wall.

Bruce took a deep breath. "If we do this now, we'd be going in short-handed."

Rhodey scoffed. "Yeah, you mean because he killed all our friends?"

His words were met with silence. Steve lowered his gaze, hands clenching into fists. Bruce frowned, Carol narrowed her eyes, and Thor tried his best to suppress the sparks of electricity gathering around his fingers at the reminder.

Natasha broke the silence. She stood, arms crossed.

"We owe it to everybody who's not in this room to try," she declared, voice wavering only once. Bruce lowered his head. Thor glanced at everybody else's reactions, but their faces were shadowed. Only Carol held her head high. Of course, she hadn't really lost anything, Thor mused.

"I say we work on figuring out who we have left," Steve murmured. "Tony went missing before the snap, along with that Spider-Man. We should find the both of them so we stand a better chance when the time comes."

"Ant-man might be able to help, if he's still around and kicking," Rhodey piped up.

"And Clint," Natasha added. The few who didn't know the archer looked at the ex-spy in confusion. "I need to know if he's okay. Laura and the kids, too."

"There were a few Asgardians who escaped our ship when Thanos attacked," Thor added. "I could start sending out signals, perhaps earn us a few more hands in battle." Bruce nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, Val would be a big help right about now," the doctor agreed. Thor grinned. The Valkyrie _would _be a great asset if they were to encounter Thanos a second time, plus another opinion on how in the Nine to undo the Decimation. The rest of the team had no idea who they were talking about, which was quite amusing. The side-glances they were giving each other almost made him forget the situation they were all in.

Steve gave a solemn nod. "Well, let's get on the lookout then," he decided.

"And what makes you think this time we'll win?" Bruce asked.

"Because this time," Carol replied, brown eyes flickering over from Steve to the scientist, "you have me."

"No disrespect, new girl, but everybody here is about that superhero life," Rhodey said. "Where the hell have you been these past few years?"

"There are other plants in the universe," Carol shot back. "And, _unfortunately_, they don't have you."

Rhodey narrowed his eyes but fell silent. The group dispersed, each going their different ways—either to look for others, or to monitor the news.

As Steve walked away, he heard a familiar voice in the back of his head.

_We're the Avengers. We can bust arms deals on a live-long day but—that up there? That's the endgame. How do you plan on beating that?_

**_Together._**

_We'll lose._

**_And we'll do that together, too._**

…

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Being a child."

"How does climbing a tree look like _being a child?_"

"Y'know, kids do that stuff. Soon enough I'll turn around only to turn back to you hanging upside down from your knees!"

"It's called getting a lay of the land, you moron. Looking for any sign of others."

Loki rolled his eyes, watching Sam and Bucky argue. Bucky was pulling himself to the next branch of the tree, while Sam watched from the trunk with his arms crossed.

"Do you two ever shut up?" Stephen asked.

"No," Loki answered before they could. Sam sent him a dirty glare, which he returned by smiling and gliding his tongue over his teeth.

Spider-man hopped over to the tree Bucky was climbing, eyes shining. Bucky was staring intently at the next level of branches, which Loki could tell weren't strong enough to hold his weight.

"This is as high as I can get," he called down. Spider-man tilted his head slightly.

"I got it!" He called up in return.

Loki watched in masked amazement as the boy began to climb the tree. Except, he was avoiding the branches completely. He passed Bucky quickly. Loki squinted, trying to figure out how the boy was doing it. Spider-mans fingertips were the only thing touching the tree besides his feet.

"Huh," Stephen murmured from beside him. "I guess the gimmick wasn't just a gimmick."

"That's so cool!" Cooper piped up, tilting his neck to watch.

"Does climbing a tree still look like being a child, Sam?" Bucky called down.

"Well, yeah, considering the child is climbing a tree."

"Oh, for God's sake."

Loki shook his head with a huff. "You see anything, Spider-boy?" He called up.

"Not a boy, I'm a man!" Was the response from deep within the branches. "Also, yes, I hear something in the trees to your… right? Yeah, your right!"

"How the hell can you hear that?" Bucky asked, face screwing up in confusion.

"I don't hear anything," Cooper murmured.

"I've got enhanced senses. Duh. Spider!" Spider-man replied, making his way down the tree branch by branch. He finished off with a flip and a graceful landing on his toes.

"That was.." Bucky began, before trailing off as though he were trying to find the correct words.

"Extra," Sam finished for him, sending the Spider-kid a glare.

"Are we going, or aren't we?" Loki asked impatiently, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his forearms.

Stephen held up a finger, reaching behind his cloak. When he pulled his hand back, we was wearing a strange (_pun intended_) ring. He waved his hand in a circular motion. It started off as a few sparks of orange light, before formulating into a portal.

"After you," he said, sweeping his arms in the direction of the doorway.

"Cool!" Cooper breathed, before stepping through.

"This magic shit is really freaking me out," Sam murmured as he followed. Bucky followed him, probably with a clever comeback that was inaudible. The spider-kid hopped in next, and Loki sighed.

"We could have just walked."

"Where's the fun in that? I thought you teleported everywhere—that's what Spider-boy said, anyways."

There was a faint, "not a boy, I'm a man!" from the portal, but neither men paid it any mind.

"I don't teleport _all the time!_ That's a waste of seidr. I have legs, and I put them to good use."

"Whatever, just get your godly ass through that portal."

"As you wish," was Loki's reply, accompanied by a charming smile. He reluctantly stepped through the portal into whatever awaited him on the other side.

…

Thor had followed Bruce into the lab, watching the scientist as he started sifting through various items laying around. His process was filled with metallic clanks and a few curses, but eventually, Bruce whipped around with a small device in his hand and a triumphant, "aha!"

"Uh, what is that?" Thor asked carefully.

"Little something Tony and I were working on before the whole… Ultron thing," Bruce explained. "It was supposed to trace signals out of our orbit to figure out if extra-terrestrials actually exist—outside of the whole Nine Realms thing, of course. In theory, if I were to amp up the frequency, it could detect signals outside of our specific galaxy."

Thor tried nodding along to show that he understood, but the words weren't quite making sense when he put them together in his mind. When Bruce had finished speaking, Thor tried to simplify things for himself until a sigh pulled him out of his thoughts.

"You didn't understand a word of that, did you?"

"No. Sorry," Thor replied with a sheepish smile.

"Okay. Basically—you see this thing?" He held up the device in his hand and Thor nodded. "Right. This thing can detect any life within our galaxy. If I were to up the power, it could—theoretically, that is, detect life throughout the _entire_ universe. I've never gotten the chance to test it, though," he mumbled the last sentence with a frown. Thor gives his friend a reassuring pat on the back accompanied by a smile.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Let us go see if we can find the Valkyrie!" Thor declared, the thought of finding the rest of the Asgardians after losing so much making him happier than he had been before he'd discovered Loki hiding out as Odin.

"Right.." Was Bruce's more reluctant reply. The pair made out of the lab.

…

Natasha watched Steve carefully. The rogue Avenger was staring blankly at a hologram of the planet. Shuri, princess of Wakanda, had supposedly disappeared in the snap, but General Okoye had sent them some of her rushed work on the energy signals the mind stone produced—a frantic scrabble the princess had conducted with her limited time with the stone. With the help of Rocket, they were able to apply the energy signals to the map. If Thanos was still on Earth, and if he used the stones, they'd know about it.

The look of Steve's face was set with determination, but Natasha could still detect the sorrow behind his eyes. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. He'd risked everything back in the '40s, thought he'd died, only to be woken up 70 years later—his friends, lover, all dead. The only friend he had left had just crumpled to dust before his eyes.

Natasha swallowed thickly. How did they manage to lose? They were the heroes, Thanos was the villain. The heroes were supposed to win. The heroes were supposed to save the day, prevent countless deaths and save the day. The heroes always won.

But this time, the heroes didn't win. Instead, they were the reason countless innocents all around the universe were dead. The villain, the evil, had emerged victorious.

_For now,_ Natasha thought to herself harshly. _We may have a chance to fix this. _

She briefly watched Bruce and Thor rush by, chattering to each other. They disappeared up the stairs towards the roof. She briefly wondered what they were doing, and why Thor looked like such a giddy child, before she pushed the thought away. They'd probably found a way to contact the Asgardians.

Carol was having a quiet conversation with Rocket about god knows what, and Rhodey was nowhere to be seen. Probably looking for any signs of where Tony could have gone.

Natasha sighed, turning her attention back to the map. She stared at it for a few moments, before it began to blink. A red dot had landed itself somewhere in Asia, blinking slowly.

"Has he used the stones?" Steve demanded, head shooting up.

Natasha slid over to the computer monitor.

"No," she replied. "There's been sightings of a mass murderer in Japan. Goes by the name of Ronin, adult male with swords. We should probably go and check it out."

"All of us?" Carol asked. "What if Thanos uses the stones while we're gone?"

"Yeah, I agree with the blonde space lady," Rocket piped up. "I don't want to miss a chance to kill that crazy-chinned purple grape with the powerful jewellery."

"Well then we'll only send a few of us," Steve decided.

"Hold on, there are recordings," Natasha interrupted as video files popped up onto the screen. She opened the first video up and turned on the TV, projecting it there as well.

It showed the dark streets of a city in Japan. Everything was normal for the first minute or two; the odd civilian here and there would pass. Natasha was starting to suspect this was some kind of false alarm. That is, until things started to get interesting.

There was a black streak that flashed down from one of the buildings. It landed—or _they _landed, Natasha assumed, and several men dropped dead. There was a glint of light, reflected off a blade of some sort, before the hooded figure disappeared into an alley.

The movements seemed oddly familiar, but Natasha couldn't quite put her finger on it. She closed the tab and clicked on the next file. This video was recorded from street-level, either on a phone or a camera held by a human if the shaking of the footage was anything to go off of.

It showed the hooded man land in a crouched position, sliding out with his two swords and killing two men. The camera-holder backed up, and the audio was filled with screams of terror and panted breaths. It showed the hooded figure kill a few more, before turning his head back slightly. The only thing shown was a nose and a tuft of dark hair, before the figure was gone.

The room was in silence. Natasha was narrowing her gaze thoughtfully because this man was all-too familiar. But she couldn't think of anybody who wielded a sword such as the one this figure carried.

"Wow," Rocket said, breaking the comfortable silence. "That was the coolest fight sequence ever."

"Rocket," Carol chided with a tut. The raccoon raised his hands (again, paws?) in surrender.

"So who goes?" Steve asked.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go?" Carol replied, head tilting every so slightly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rocket scoffed.

"I _mean _is it a really good idea to divert our resources to this?" She repeated, glancing at Rocket.

"He's killing innocents," Steve pointed out calmly.

"Thanos killed millions of innocents and we still haven't stopped him," Carol shot back. "We should be focusing on reversing the snap and bringing back the half of the universe he eliminated!"

"And in the process let hundreds of others die?" Steve sounded exasperated. "I mean no disrespect, ma'am, but you haven't been here for the past however many years! We, as the Avengers, have a responsibility to eliminate threats to this planet!"

Carol seemed to stop and think for a moment, but Natasha wasn't sure why. It didn't look like she was considering going after this Ronin guy, but was thinking something else over. Perhaps she was considering just stopping Thanos herself? That idea seemed impossible, but Natasha didn't know this person well enough to know if she wouldn't try. Finally, Carol blinked coldly.

"Did Nick ever tell you I was the original Avenger?" She asked, voice as cold as ice. Natasha blinked with pure confusion. The _original _Avenger?

"Nick never mentioned someone else as being apart of the Avengers Initiative," Natasha replied slowly.

"Well, that'd be because I wasn't." The sentence caught Natasha off guard, and she exchanged a glance with Steve. Rocket seemed to have gotten bored of the conversation and had begun screwing with the computers—probably hacking them.

"Explain," Steve said, his tone making it sound like more of an order than a request. Carol raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, which Natasha was internally grateful for; she wasn't sure if they could afford to fight amongst themselves, or to create another powerful enemy. Not right now, at least.

"I used to be a pilot, and they used to call me Carol 'Avenger' Danvers. I'm sure Fury would have dug up some of my old files after I left to help the Skrulls and—"

"Wait, what the hell are Skrulls?" Natasha interrupted.

"A shape-shifting alien species, we thought they were evil but they weren't—anyways! I knew Fury. I wouldn't be surprised if he used my old life as inspiration."

"That's nice and all," Steve said, "but you weren't the _original. _I became Captain America in the 1940's."

"This isn't a 'who is older' competition!" Natasha interrupted before Carol could reply. "We get it, Steve, your ancient. Might as well put you in a museum. Could we focus on the task at hand, please? Who is going after this Ronin guy?"

"Well, why don't you go if you care so much?" Rocket piped up, turning away from the TV he was taking apart—when he saw his actions, Steve gave him a death glare. Natasha shrugged.

"Fine by me. I'll go to Japan and get rid of the Ronin, you guys make sure Thor and Bruce don't explode the compound."

…

When Loki stepped through Stephens portal, he was.. confused, to say the least. They were on an empty pathway through the forest, and there was no sign of life at _all. _

"Hey, Bug-boy, I think you need a hearing check!" Sam called from where he had wandered further up the path.

"Its Spider-man, thank you! And I swear that I heard something!" Spider-man called back, crossing his arms with a huff.

"If you don't mind me asking," Loki started carefully, "what exactly did you hear?"

Spider-man paused for a few moments, seeming to think it over, before replying.

"It was a strange growling noise.." he murmured. Then, his eyes widened and he gasped.

"What? What is it? Did you hear something?" Bucky asked, whipped his head side-to-side as though there was something lurking behind them.

"No! What if what I heard was a _demon?"_

"Oh, for the love of everything sacred—there is _no _demon, child!" Loki snapped.

"I dunno," Cooper murmured, "this forest is giving me the creeps. Maybe it's haunted!"

"I agree with short stuff over there," Sam added, walking back to the group. "This place has some sketchy vibes."

"You just want attention, Sam," Bucky huffed.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Everybody _shut up!_" Stephen snapped. The group fell silent. Loki let his gaze wander. There was a faint rumbling, and the vibrations set his seidr into motion. Green wisps appeared at his fingertips.

"What is that?" Cooper murmured, cowering behind Sam.

"I don't know," Spider-man murmured in reply. "The vibrations are too strong to pick out anything specific. Could be anything."

"It sounds like footsteps to me," Bucky replied in a hushed voice.

"I agree with Wakandan Jesus," Sam whispered. Bucky shot him a look, and Loki rolled his eyes. Out of the millions that faded to dust, he _had _to be stuck with these two. The Norns hate him, obviously.

"Well, whatever it is," Stephen whispered harshly, "it's coming this way."

And he was right. The noise was steadily growing louder. Spider-man's helmet formulated over his head and he crouched down; Bucky drew his fists up in a defensive position; Stephen held, several arm movements later, two shields; Sam stuck his arm out, herding Cooper further behind him; and Loki allowed his magic to flow freely from his veins and brought his hands up to showcase the green wisps crawling out from his fingers.

The bushes rattled once. Twice. Three times.

Loki narrowed his eyes and slid his foot out to help his balance.

Four.

The prince glanced at the people he was stuck fighting with. If this thing was a huge threat, he was doomed.

Five.

A man burst through the bushes, seemingly running for his life. His face was white as a ghost, and Loki could tell it wasn't his natural tone—don't as him how, he just did. Behind him came an insect-looking lady, a man covered head-to-toe in red tattoos, and a tree—the tree that came with Thor.

"Quill!" Stephen exclaimed that Spider-man said, "Star-lord!"

"Get out of the way!" The man—Quill, Star-lord, Loki hadn't decided which name he trusted—screamed.

Before Loki could ask what in the Helheim he was talking about, a dark muzzle burst through the undergrowth.

"Oh, Norns help us all," Loki breathed, shuffling back a little bit. Quill and his three companions tore past the group as Fenris, Hela's wolf, emerged from the brambles, lips curled in the beginnings of a snarl.

"What the hell is that?" Sam screamed.

"_We're gonna die!" _came the faint scream of Quill.

Loki heard the fading footsteps as everybody behind him ran, but he knew better than that. Fenris was fast—they'd be caught. So he'd have to face the beast.

But maybe not kill it. Just.. face it.

And like that, Loki had a plan.

"Loki! What the hell are you standing there for? Run!" Bucky yelled from behind him. Loki raised his hand, not speaking a word. His determined green gaze was focused on Fenris's approaching dark from. Green eyes met green, and Loki's lips formed a snarl of his own.

He was a spitting image of Hela (how is _he_ the adopted one?) so maybe he could control Fenris as she could.

He held his hand forwards, the skin seemingly smoking with neon green. Fenris seemed to slow down with confusion at his actions. Loki counted that as a small victory, but he wasn't done yet.

Fenris stopped directly in front of the young god, and Loki narrowed his eyes. He took a reluctant step forwards, every other part of his body but his legs unmoving. Fenris's eyes followed his hand until he carefully pressed it against his nose.

The group behind him was silent, if they were even still there. It was possible they had all fled already, but he paid it no mind. All that he was focused on right now was taming the overgrown wolf in front of him.

"They think you a monster," Loki whispered, running his hand along Fenris's muzzle. "I know the feeling."

He earned a low growl from the wolf, but he still had his hand, so that was a win.

"You aren't so bad, are you, Fenris?"

Another growl, softer this time. Loki risked a smile. He moved his hand further down Fenris's muzzle, getting closer to his mouth. Suddenly, Fenris snarled, all previous calmness gone. Loki frowned, his hand freezing.

He slowly lifted his limb away from the wolf, took a deep breath, and held it under the wolf's nose. Fenris sniffed him, before edging away ever so slightly.

Fenris didn't seem all as menacing as he did with Hela, Loki noticed. How curious.

Loki furrowed his brows in confusion. He looked down at his hand, then back at Fenris. The wolf had locked eyes with him, vibrant green staring into vibrant green. In these moments, Fenris looked almost.. human. Aesir, more like. He was a wolf, yes, but he _wasn't. _And, with a faint smile, Loki understood.

"By Norns, what have they done to you?" He breathed.

Fenris made a small whining noise, and Loki carefully stroked his muzzle again.

"I won't hurt you like they did, I promise."

Fenris backed away again, as though he still didn't trust Loki's word. Loki sighed, lowering his gaze. Then, he forced his seidr away and held his hand under Fenris's mouth. Fenris met his eyes again, almost curiously, before his jaws parted. Not breaking eye contact, Loki stuck his hand into Fenris's mouth. Fenris closed his mouth in a swift, strong motion, his fangs digging into Loki's flesh.

There was a chorus of horrified gasps behind him, letting him know everybody was in fact still there. Wonderful. He let out a hiss through clenched teeth, but other then that, showed no more signs of pain. With his other hand, he ran his fingers along Fenris's nose again.

"See?" He breathed.

Something sparked into Fenris's eyes, and he slowly opened his mouth to allow Loki to pull his hand out again. The limb he retracted from the wolf's mouth was mangled and coated with both blood and saliva.

Loki immediately put his seidr to work, his hand swirling with green, and he smirked slightly at the wolf before him.

"Jesus, when did Loki turn into Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon?" He heard Sam whisper. Loki sighed and turned his head. Sam, Cooper, Bucky, Stephen, Spider-man, Quill, and his three companions were grouped together on the forest path, quite a few feet away.

"I am Groot?"

"No, they are not siblings—why would you even think that?" Quill snapped, turning to the tree who spoke.

"I am Groot."

"Okay, yes, they look a little alike.."

"I am Groot!"

"Mantis? What does Mantis have to do with this?"

Loki sighed and brought his free hand to the bridge of his nose. More fools to deal with. Wonderful. He'd have to deal with that issue later.

First, healing his hand and making sure nobody would kill Fenris.

_After all, adopted siblings had to stick together._

**ooh cliff hanger. sorry not sorry-**

_**ONE FAVOURITE =**_** Loki gets casted as Hiccup for the HtTYD reboot (it'll happen i swear)  
**_**ONE REVIEW =**_ **one nickel for every time Carol has to explain what a Skrull is (srry bb)**


	10. Duality

_**AN: Hey hey hey! It's been a hot minute since I've posted a chapter. Quite a bit has happened since we last spoke. Like, uh, hOLY FREAKING ENDGAME TRAILERS! I'm currently going through the extreme emotions of anxiety and excitement for this movie. I don't know what I should feel, honestly. aNYWAYS! This is now turning from an Endgame prediction to an Endgame... AU. Yeah well I already know that what I'm doing over here is not going to happen in Endgame and I've accepted this fact so, we've gone back to AU. Wonderful. Also, if I get any Endgame spoilers from y'all in Australia who've already gotten the chance to see Endgame... *inhale* it wont be pretty. I also want to thank all you lovely readers for the support I've received with this story! For those of you lucky ones who get to just skin through all 10 of these chapters, welcome! And for all of you who've been here since the beginning of April... i'm sorry. **_

**_so cool take this chapter._**

**_Chapter 10 ~ Duality_**

Much to everybody else in the group's disgust, Loki's hand wouldn't heal right away. But to avoid Cooper almost heaving into the bushes, he put on a glamour as it healed. To the untrained eye, both hands we completely normal. They'd travelled further down the path until they'd reached a clearing before stopping.

They all sat in a circle, save Fenris, who was so large he was able to curl his body around half of the circle. The large wolf lay with his chin rested against his paws, green eyes watching the rest thoughtfully. Fenris had remained close to Loki, which the trickster could tell the others didn't mind too much. Everybody else was terrified of his sister's steed.

"So, care to explain how you know the demon-dog that was chasing us?" Quill asked. Loki could already tell by the tone of voice that this man had a large ego and wasn't quite looking forwards to dealing with it. Unluckily for everyone else, Loki was _not _in the mood.

"Care to explain how you managed to piss him off?" Loki shot back, eyes glowing from the use of his seidr narrowed.

"Okay, how about we all calm down?" Spider-man suggested.

"I am Groot!" The tree huffed with a roll of its eyes.

"Ay!" Quill scolded, turning a pointed finger to the tree that called itself 'Groot.' "Watch your language!"

Stephen interrupted with a frustrated huff. "We aren't going to get anywhere if you all keep arguing. How about we start by introducing the Guardians?"

Quill nodded, sending Loki one last glare. Loki's response was a grin, and he very much enjoyed the rage flashing in the other man's eyes.

"Loki," Stephen warned, and the trickster sighed.

"Honestly! You lot are no fun!"

"Coming from the one with the sophisticated British accent," Sam muttered, just loud enough for Loki's slightly advanced hearing to pick up.

"Hey! I heard that! There is nothing wrong with my accent!" He snapped.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Why you little—"

"Hey!" Stephen interrupted again. Fenris gave a low growl at the commotion from behind Loki. "Quill, introductions."

"Right. Well, I'm Star-Lord, but you can call me Quill. Peter Quill," Quill began. "The tree lookin' dude there is Groot. He can grow his arms and shit, kinda freaky, but I'm not complaining," he continued, pointing to the tree. Groot looked over and rolled his eyes, before looking elsewhere. "The lady in green with the too-large black eyes that look like they'll steal your soul and the antennae is Mantis. She's got emphatic abilities." Mantis waved slowly. "And finally," his pointed finger turned to the final member, "this guy's Drax. I… honestly don't know what he does. He stabs stuff, complains a lot, usually a clueless moron. And that's.. all we've got here. There's another two members that are currently not here; Rocket, a little raccoon—"

"I've met him. No wonder he's part of your group," Loki interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"The raccoon that wanted my arm?" Bucky asked, looking over to Quill. Quill seemed to ponder that before responding.

"Yeah, sounds about right. Don't give it to him; he doesn't really need it for anything, no matter what he tells you."

"Right.." Bucky replied, somewhat uncomfortably.

"I am Groot?"

"Good thinking, Groot," Quill said with a smile. "Your turn for introductions."

Drax and Mantis both voiced their agreement. Loki wasn't quite sure what to make of the two Guardians just yet—they hadn't said enough for him to validate an opinion. For now, he took to watching the two with interest.

"Well, you already know me and Spider-man," Stephen replied, pointing to the boy beside him who gave a smile and a small wave.

"I'm the Falcon," Sam offered. "Course, that's my superhero name. Real name's Sam Wilson. Y'all can call me Sam, though."

"I'm Cooper. Cooper Barton," Cooper added timidly from beside Sam..

"Nice to meet you, Cooper," Mantis greeted the boy with a warm smile. Cooper returned it reluctantly.

"I'm James," Bucky spoke up, brushing strands of long brown hair from his face with metallic fingers, "but call me Bucky. Everybody else does."

"How does one get Bucky from James?" Drax asked, looking quite confused.

"Ah—full name is James Buchanan Barnes."

"I still don't see Bucky," Drax mumbled.

"How about we move on?" Spider-man suggested.

"Great idea. What's your name, tall dark and gloomy?" Quill asked, directing his voice towards where Loki sat next to Fenris. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow and breathed a long sigh.

"I'm Loki," he replied simply.

"Just Loki? No surname, nothing?" Quill prompted. Loki mulled that over for a moment. A voice in the back of his head told him just Loki; he had no father to gain a surname from, anyways. He was no Laufeyson, abandoned to die during a war. He was no Odinson, cast away from the throne and tossed into an abyss like a rabid animal.

_At least Laufey had the decency to allow me a less horrifying death than the void, _he thought bitterly.

But Thor. Loki had to think about Thor.

Before Thanos arrived on the Statesman and blew it to hell, Thor was making up for all those years of ignoring Loki and throwing him under the bus. Thor was his brother.

Frigga was his mother.

"Odinson," he said at last. "Loki Odinson, prince of Asgard and the rightful king of Jotunheim."

"Extra," Sam muttered. Another low growl from Fenris.

"Loki.. doesn't that name sound familiar?" Drax asked, turning to Quill. It was Mantis who replied.

"Yes! Thor's brother!"

Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Adopted," he growled. "How do you know of Thor?"

"The pirate angel slammed into our ship's windshield," Drax replied.

"Pirate angel?" Loki asked, face screwing up in confusion.

"Best not to ask," Stephen sighed.

"Right," Loki murmured.

"He told us all about you," Mantis added.

"How much did he tell you?" Loki asked wearily.

Quill answered, "quite a bit, actually." He lowered his voice to what Loki assumed was his impression of Thor and said, "_my brother, Loki, tried to take over a planet once, but that's okay because he helped me kill an elf later._"

"That doesn't sound like Thor in the slightest."

"Hey! It's called an impression! I'm not going to tell you what he _really_ said because he went on for hours!"

"He only talked for 15 minutes before he left," Mantis murmured.

"Onto how you tamed the hell-hound," Drax prompted.

"Ah, yes, but of course. You see.."

…

A month and a half.

Natasha had been off hunting down this crazed killer for a month and a half. They'd gotten a few messages from her, assuring them that she wasn't dead or anything. But it wasn't a lot, and there'd been no word from her for at least a week.

Steve had shaved off his beard. They weren't hiding from the law anymore, so there was no need for the disguise. The soldier took routine rides around New York on his motorcycle, no doubt looking at the poor families who watched loved ones turn to dust. An event they couldn't stop. An event they'd failed to prevent. An event he was no doubt beating himself up over. When he was at the Compound, he spent his time moping around or monitoring for any use of the stones on Earth.

Banner was keeping tabs on other heroes around the world. He'd sent a call to Professor Xavior's school for mutants, but the Professor had said that his students were not emotionally stable enough after watched the events that took place unfold I the form of piles of dust. They were just children, after all. Banner had also uncovered that the Ant-Man hadn't been seen since the Decimation, leading them to believe he'd been dusted.

Thor was constantly on the compound's roof, waiting. Always waiting. Bruce had helped him set up the device to locate the Asgardians but they'd received no word yet. The few times anybody would approach him, they'd see him murmuring to himself in what seemed like ancient Norse and staring at the horizon. Nobody could quite figure out what he was saying, however, so they just left it.

When Rocket wasn't sitting with Thor, trying to send a signal to the Benatar, he was screwing with the technology in the compound. Every single thing with wires, you can be sure the raccoon would be fucking with it. TV's, weapons, computers, the Quinjet—hell, Bruce even walked in on him taking apart a light switch once. Sometimes he'd be talking space with Carol, but only if he wasn't trying to make a bomb out of paperclips and a blender.

Carol was usually sparring, and since everybody else was so busy, it was Rhodey who was subject to her punches. After the first round, Rhodes had to get his suit because Carol _packed a punch_. It was embarrassing how bad he was being beaten, but he couldn't help but smile at it. This woman could do wonders against Thanos, and if she had come earlier, she probably could've prevented the snap.

But she hadn't, and half of the universe paid for it.

Carol wished Nick had sent her a signal earlier. She hated seeing the aftermath she could've helped prevent, seeing the broken pieces of what used to be a team. She'd taken to the internet after a few days, researching this team of Avengers and what they could do.

She saw New York, the Chitauri raining down on unsuspecting civilians. She saw clips of a god with horns at the head of this invasion, a glowing scepter in his possession. She saw this team assemble for the first time and she watched the man in the red-and-gold suit fly a nuke into a wormhole. She saw the invader in chains and a muzzle being hauled away.

She saw Sakovia. She watched a robot send an entire city into the air with people still around. She watched footage of Nick coming to the rescue, helping people to safety. She saw a man with short brown hair and a bow hold a boy close to protect him from an inevitable death, then watched another team member sacrifice themselves to stop it. She saw the Avengers getting their asses whooped, until they sent the city crashing back down in pieces.

Obviously, they used to be a team. But now, a few of them would glare at the other. They were missing members, and not by the snap. What, exactly, had happened?

Carol told herself she'd ask later, perhaps when the Decimation wasn't so fresh.

But for now, all they could do is wait. Wait for something to happen—anything to happen.

And just when Carol thought they'd be waiting for a while, an alarm started to go off.

…

Natasha has been on many missions like the one she had currently tasked herself with. She'd managed to get herself a small apartment to stay in until she caught Ronin, which so far, she hadn't been having much luck in.

Her hair had begun to grow out, regaining its natural red color. The tips were still blonde, a reminder of the fugitive life she'd had to lead.

Every time she was close to this assassin, they'd get away. So far, she'd gotten a lead on an attack he was planning; that night, on a side street in the city.

Now, Natasha roamed the streets with an umbrella in hand, shielding herself from the rain drumming steadily on the ground. Her gaze was flickering cautiously around, looking for any signs of the oncoming attack. It had to be any minute now.

As if on cue, a black SUV pulled out onto the street. Natasha narrowed her eyes, before picking up her pace to follow it. She spared a few glances over her shoulder, following the SUV to an intersection.

A left.

Natasha had a lot of practice following fast-moving vehicles on foot, so she had no trouble following this one.

A right.

She was practically running now. Her heels clicked with every step, her coat fanning out behind her. The vehicle was slowing down, before abruptly turning onto a side street. Natasha followed, her grip on her umbrella tightening.

She slipped onto the side street, the black SUV coming into sight once again. A few men in suits stepped out of the vehicle, and Natasha held her breath.

Any second now.

Suddenly, Natasha's sharp gaze noticed a shadow being cast from the top of a building. A human-like shadow.

The men had barely taken three steps away from their vehicle when they were killed. Ronin worked fast, effectively killing everybody in that street but her. Ronin turned his head slightly, his side-profile being revealed in a small portion form behind his hood. Natasha didn't advert her gaze, even as the man brought his swords up to bring them across the cuffs on his sleeves. There was a sheathing noise, and then Ronin brought his hands up to his hood.

He pulled the hood down and turned. Natasha sucked in a breath, barely believing her eyes.

"Clint?" She breathed. He'd certainly changed a lot—and not just the whole sword thing.

He'd grown his hair out and shaved it into a mohawk. His brown eyes had a coldness in them Natasha hadn't seen since he'd been controlled by Loki. He looked angry.

He was grieving.

Natasha approached him slowly, reaching out. Clint flinched, before allowing her to grab his hand. She squeezed his hand, and when he squeezed back, Natasha knew what her friend was grieving.

His family.

Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel—they all must have gone in the snap. Otherwise, Clint wouldn't have been there with her in Japan.

Without another word, Natasha pulled him into a loose hug. It took Clint a few moments to relax and return it.

"We're going to fix this," she promised in a whisper. "All of us. We'll bring them back."

"How?" Clint croaked, backing away to look her in the eyes. Natasha lowered her gaze.

"We're working on it Just—come back to the compound. Thor and Banner are back, and we have two new members. We can't fix this without you, Clint."

Clint didn't reply. Natasha was ready for him to decline, but his answer was both a shock and a relief.

"Okay."

"Okay," she echoed with a small smile.

…

"In the All-father's final moments, he informed me and Thor he had a daughter—his first born. Hela, goddess of death," Loki began to explain. Fenris let out a low whining noise at the mention of Hela.

"Who's the All-father?" Quill asked.

"Odin, King of Asgard," Loki answered. "The man I'd believed to be my father for centuries, but that's not what we're talking about right now. This is about Fenris.

"Fenris here served as Hela's steed, or so had been explained. A loyal companion to wage war against the Nine Realms with. But, after we escaped Ragnarok—the destruction of my home planet, I started piecing things together. Every time I've encountered Fenris, I've always felt a strange magic surrounding him. It was familiar, and yet at the same time I couldn't quite piece it together. It didn't bother me much, until I was not fighting for my life against undead warriors. But I recognise it now— _shape-shifting."_

"Shape-shifting?" Drax echoed. "Isn't magic a myth?"

To answer his question, Loki called his seidr to action and held a ball of swirling green in his palm.

"Does this look like a myth?" He asked with mock sincerity.

"No," Drax mumbled. Satisfied, Loki continued.

"I shape-shift all the time. Not all the time anymore, I guess. I haven't done it in centuries. Odin forbade it after I turned into a snake to scare Thor. However when I asked why, I was simply sent away."

Loki's eyes darkened at the memory.

_"Father, why can I not shape-shift anymore? It was only a jest!" Young Loki protested. Odin shook his head wearily with a tsk. His eyes held something very guarded, some emotion Loki was barely able to recognise in his father; fear._

_"This is not up for debate, Loki. I don't want to see you changing form again."_

_"But, father—"_

_"Loki!" Odin snapped, his patience breaking. Loki lowered his gaze under his father's scolding glare. Directing his words to the guards, Odin murmured, "escort the prince to his chambers for the night."_

"Because I was young and stubborn," Loki continued, "I snuck out later that night to the palace library to look into what Odin could have possibly been afraid of."

_Loki gently closed the looming golden doors behind him, before grabbing his lantern from where he'd left it on the ground and venturing into the darkness of the library. His green gaze flickered uncertainly amongst the shadowed corridors of books, rows upon rows of knowledge. _

_Why father had forbidden shape-shifting was beyond him. He'd asked mother, but all he'd received was a quick change of subject. Loki didn't like being kept in the dark, so he pulled out one of his favourite fictional tales from the shelves. He vaguely remembered something about shape-shifting, but he couldn't be sure. It seemed like a good place to start. _

_He set his lantern down beside him as he crossed his legs and opened the book, licking his finger and flipping the page several times. His eyes scanned each page quickly before turning it, repeating the process until he found what he was looking for. With a hum of curiosity, Loki read each word presented to him on the page very carefully. His green eyes glided steadily along the runes etched into the parchment. _

"Well, what did it say?" Sam interrupted, crossing his arms. Loki narrowed his eyes coldly.

"If you'd just wait a moment, I'll tell you," he shot back icily. Sam raised his hands in surrender, and Bucky stifled his laughter from beside him. "Oh, shut up," Sam muttered to him, knocking his arm with his elbow. Stephen rolled his eyes at the pair, and Loki began with the simplicity of the so-called myth.

"During the times of Odin's conquest on the Nine Realms—with Hela by his side, Odin had taken in a young boy who showed in interest in magic. Male mages weren't common, so the boy was cast out. Odin saw power in him and offered to get him training with his seidr if he assisted Odin in the conquest. The boy agreed, of course, and began training his seidr.

"The boy was becoming more and more powerful, and soon showed great strength in shape-shifting. The Allfather saw this as an advantage and ordered the boy with him as a wolf. It was said this wolf was a great asset in the conquering of Alfheim, scaring the light elves easily. But, one day, the boy couldn't change back. Stuck a wolf forever. When the Allfather stopped his conquest, he had no need for the wolf. So, he did what he did best." Loki's tone turned into a low growl, expressing hatred with every word. Behind him, Fenris growled from deep within his throat.

"What did he do?" Mantis asked, head tilting in innocent curiosity.

"Locked him away," Loki spate distastefully. "Lied. Forgot. And when the Allfather forgets, so does the rest of Asgard. The boy became nothing but a myth, warning all sorcerers and mages of the dangers of shape-shifting if one is not careful. Which leads me to believe that Fenris happens to be that boy."

Loki brought a hand back to run his fingers through the wolfs dark fur, earning a low whine.

"So this.. dog used to be human?" Cooper asked, eyes glued on Fenris with amazement.

"Not human," Loki corrected, "Aesir."

"Back at the Compound, you said your crazy-ass sister had a wolf for a steed, didn't you?" Bucky asked.

"I did," Loki confirmed. "How I fit that into this web of long-forgotten lies is simple; Fenris was to conquer with Hela. Either Odin ordered him to Hela's side, or he went willingly. Possibly part of his reasoning for burying him under the palace and not giving it another thought. Of course, that story is only what I pieced together. The only ones who would know if it was true or not would be Odin, who is dead, Hela, who has been sent back to Helheim, and Fenris here." As he spoke, Fenris turned his head to meet his gaze. "Was I at least partially correct?" He questioned. Fenris gave a curt nod, before turning to rest his chin on his paws once more. Loki smiled and nodded.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments longer, Loki absent-mindedly running his fingers through the dark fur of Fenris's flank. He and the boy-turned-wolf had a lot in common. Both of them served Odin a purpose, and when that purpose was no more, they were cast out. He could feel a few stares on him as he kept his gaze firmly on his boots, lost in his own mind. Obviously, there were still unanswered questions. But those questions would have to wait.

For now, they needed to do as Strange had said; gather everybody in the stone together for whatever plan they came up with. They'd get out. He just wasn't sure how.

…

Back on Earth, Thor was sitting atop the Avengers Compound, blue-and-amber gaze set on the sun sinking on the horizon. The device buzzed in his lap, attached by a wire to a few computer monitors behind him. His legs dangled over the edge of the roof, his hands supporting his weight as he leaned backwards.

Bruce had told him when a signal was found, the device would make a steady beeping sound and the computers would light up—it wasn't his exact explanation, of course. There were a lot more science terms thrown in there that Thor couldn't be bothered to ask what he meant by it. He'd simply nodded, smiled and thanked the doctor for the assistance. So far, the only sound around him had been birds, the steady buzzing noise, and occasionally Rocket when he came to join him.

Thor found his mind wandering as he absently watched darkness settle over Midgard. Loki's final moments still haunted him, and he did his best not to think about it. Unfortunately, his baby brother's form crumpling to dust in his fingers appeared to him every time he closed his eyes. The desperate scrabble to gather the flakes of ash left behind, even though he knew there was no point. Clutching what used to be his brother in his hand as he stared blankly at the ground for several moments, struggling to contain the anger bubbling beneath his skin.

Loki had died several times before, yes, but this time it was so much worse. Because Thor knew there was no way it was a trick. Several others had fallen the same way, fading away until they were nothing but mere dust.

Lost in his thoughts, Thor barely registered that the buzz had faded out. He continued to stare at the final rays of the sun, sending violet streaks along the sky as it dipped blow the horizon.

_Beep.. beep… beep…_

Thor blinked rapidly, looking down at the device in his lap. Registering the sound, he whipped his head around to look at the computers. He'd gotten a signal.

A signal. Thor let out a breathless laugh and shot to his feet, hurrying to the monitors. It wasn't too far out from Earths atmosphere. Thor grinned, before taking off in a mad dash down the stairs to inform the rest of the team.

"My friends!" Thor announcing breathlessly as he entered the common room where Steve, Carol, Rocket and Rhodey sat. "I have acquired a signal just outside of Earth's atmosphere."

Immediately, Rocket's gaze became hopeful.

"The Guardians?" He asked. Thor shrugged.

"I know not. The only information provided was vital signs aboard a spacecraft."

"Well, lets go get 'em, then," Carol declared, and Thor nodded with another smile.

...

_**evil cackle**_** i just love leaving you guys hanging like this. to make the suspense worse..**

**who is approaching Earth? who will Loki and the gang of dead heroes find next? find out next time on... fIgHT aNOtHEr dAY iW AU!1!**

**(as much as it doesn't sound like it i love you all ok i swear)**

_**ONE FAVOURITE = **_**One cheer for Ronin- I mean Clint!**

_**ONE REVIEW =**_** One vote towards Odin's '****_worst father of the century_****' award**


	11. Young Gods

_**AN**__**: Well, long-time no-see, everybody! I actually wasn't planning on being gone this long. Life happened, I guess. Anyways, I had to hurry and get this up because I'm leaving tomorrow on a school trip lasting until Wednesday. I'll be able to write on the bus, so I thought I'd just shove this out there for now. Hopefully, for the 5 hour ride, I'll get at least most of the next chapter finished. We are also getting into the importance of the plot-line soon, with the Avengers that end up assembling in this chapter. Hope y'all are excited! **_

_**Also, I feel like I should mention this because I can. If you dont wanna read, go ahead and scroll down. I've been dealing with some stuff as of late, which is part of the reason for my absence. This pride month i have come to terms with my sexuality; a heteromantic asexual. (I guess now i can officially say im an ace at writing ahAHAHAHA puns) Anyways, I haven't officially... come out yet. Hell, i'm still trying to understand fully what being ace means. But, i've told nobody about this writing platform and what I do, or that i'm even interested in writing fanfiction. It may just be the social anxiety, but I don't want to watch as people read my stuff. ESPECIALLY when they read it out loud. Over the internet, it's much easier. What's the point of this, you ask? Well, I want to thank every one of you for even VIEWING this story. For my first real fic, this story has 41 comments, and several thousand favourites. I think that's a pretty good accomplishment, and it shows me that other people actually enjoy my writing. Thank you guys so much for your support! You have no idea how much it means to me. I love you guys 3000, so lets get on with the chapter. **_

_**(thanks for those who read)**_

_**...**_

**_Chapter 11 ~ Young Gods_**

Natasha set the Quinjet on autopilot and ducked out of the cockpit, sitting quietly next to her best friend. Clint had been quiet ever since they'd taken off, and Natasha couldn't blame him. He'd lost almost everything. Without speaking, she laid her hand on Clint's shoulder. Clint looked up from his lap and gave her a sad, weak smile.

"You good?" She asked, even though she knew it was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't.

"Yeah," he murmured. "For now, yeah. How about you? Anything I should know before we reach the compound?"

Natasha couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips.

"Well, for one, Thor has short hair now."

Clint gaped. "No way! Does he look ugly, or do his stupidly perfect space genes stop that from happening?"

Natasha shook her head with a laugh. "Unfortunately, it's the latter."

Clint rolled his eyes. "God, he's too perfect. I hope we uncover some super dark secret soon, make him seem more.."

"Imperfect," Natasha finished in agreement, a small nod of the head accompanying her statement.

"Anything else?" Clint prompted, his previously humorous gaze reverting back to the solemn one.

"Well, there's a few aliens hanging around now. A talking raccoon and some chick named Carol."

Clint nodded. "Strange. That it?"

Natasha remained silent for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to through one last detail in or not. Finally, she answered.

"No. During the battle before.. you know, Loki fought on our side. Saved a lot of our asses, actually."

Clint watched her with wide eyes and a parted jaw for a few moments. Then, he laughed.

"You aren't talking about Thor's brother, are you? That can't be the same planet-invading Asgardian freak I think you're talking about. He's a new guy, right? From Mars or something?"

Natasha met his gaze steadily. "No. It's the same Loki. The same Loki who attacked New York a few years ago. The same Loki who infiltrated SHIELD, the same Loki who placed you under mind control."

Clint gaped at her, and before he could say anything Natasha continued.

"It wasn't him, Clint. There was a bigger evil behind him, one pulling the strings from the shadows. Our puppet master's name is Thanos, and he's the reason everybody has disappeared. He got his hands on all six infinity stones—energy devices similar to the one that was in Vision's head created at the birth of our universe. It's all really fucked up, really," she ended with a humorless laugh. "We spent so much time worrying about threats on our _own_ planet, we never really thought to look up."

"S-so will he..?" Clint trailed off, looking haunted. It was no secret how much Clint hated the mind control, hated Loki. Telling him the man responsible for him killing his comrades was innocent was never going to end well. Clint was taking the situation much better than Natasha thought he would be.

Natasha shook her head. "He got caught into the decimation. Faded away in Thor's arms after taking on Thanos. I can't believe I'm saying this, but once you get passed his exterior, he isn't a horrible guy. He's saved Thor countless times, saved Wanda while we fought Thanos.." She looked up to see Clint's reaction. His face was stony, emotionless, though his eyes betrayed his dark thoughts.

"Oh," was Clint's quiet response. The two old friends sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, until a sharp beeping from the cockpit.

"And that is?" Clint asked, jerked from his thoughts.

"We're here," Natasha stated simply, standing to take control of the aircraft.

…

Thor, Carol, Rhodey, Steve and Rocket were outside within a moment, Bruce being informed by FRIDAY as they made a quick exit of the Compound. Bruce had promised to get a signal to the spacecraft, giving them permission to land. Rhodey wore his suit, Steve had his shields from Wakanda, Rocket had a blaster and Thor was ready to call Stormbreaker.

They stood on the lawn outside of the compound, gazing up at the night sky. Thor shifted from foot to foot, suddenly feeling anxious about the confrontation. What if he got his hopes up for nothing? It could be nothing but a mere Ravager ship, or even pirates. There was no telling who was up there. They could only hope.

Suddenly, one of the stars became larger. And larger, and larger, until a ship was visible. Rocket cocked his blaster, standing on Rhodey's shoulder.

"And we're sure this isn't Nat?" Rhodey asked. Carol looked about ready to smack him atop the head.

"No. The signal was off-world, idiot," Rocket answered for her with his usual snark.

"Is it Tony?" Rhodey asked after a pause. Carol let out a huff of frustration and Rocket smacked the side of his helmet with his blaster.

"We don't know, jackass," Rocket snapped.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Rhodey muttered. Thor watched as the ship got closer. He was starting to be able to make out the features, and—to everybody else's alarm, he let out a breathy laugh.

It was the Commodore.

"What're you laughing at, Sparkles?" Carol asked, turning to look at them.

"Stand down, my friends. There will be no fight today," Thor informed, loosening his defensive stance and marching over to meet the ship as it set down on the lawn.

"Are you sure, Thor?" Steve called out after him, and Thor simply waved him off. The ramp opened at the back of the ship, fog billowing out after it. Three silhouettes stood; one larger, bulky even, another feminine looking, and the last smaller. Thor rubbed his hands together, waiting as the smoke cleared out. The three figures revealed themselves.

First stepped out Korg, a few loose stones dropping from his body.

"Hey, man!" He greeted. "Not a Doug yet, bro!" He gave Thor a pat on the shoulder. Meik stepped out after him, giving Thor a some-what wave with his knife-hands.

Last came a dishevelled looking Valkyrie, hair tied up similar to how it was on Sakaar. She carried her dragonfang blade, and she scanned the ranks of faces thoughtfully. When her eyes landed on Thor, her lips formed a soft smile. Thor remained rooted to the spot as she stopped in front of him.

"Your majesty," she said with a familiar sarcastic glint, bowing mockingly.

"Valkyrie," Thor replied, smiling as she looked up to meet his gaze again.

"I take it the Statesman went boom?" She asked, tilting her head in question. Thor's face dropped.

"Yeah. The only survivors were me, Loki, and Bruce after you left."

"Left? More like you shoved me into an escape pod and sent me on my way!" Valkyrie's voice became angry. Thor frowned.

"I was trying to protect you."

"My job is to protect _you_!" Valkyrie snapped. "I'm a Valkyrie! I swore allegiance to the throne and you happen to have sat upon that throne before it exploded!"

"I couldn't watch anybody else die," he whispered.

"Well I spent the last however many days thinking you were dead," Valkyrie huffed. Thor dropped his gaze as Valkyrie brushed passed him to greet Bruce.

"How's it going, big guy?" Her greeting met his ears faintly. Thor sighed and followed after them as they went inside, falling in step with Rocket.

"Girl troubles?" He asked, and Thor scoffed.

"You could say that," he mumbled. He sighed and flopped on the couch the moment they made it to the common room. Valkyrie sat as far away from him as possible, obviously still mad, and started up conversation with Carol. Meik hung around Korg, who had gone up to Steve. Thor could hear what he was saying.

"Hey, man! I'm Korg, this is Meik, we're friends of Thor's. Helped me start a revolution."

"Revolution?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Yeah, man! Revolution against the Grandmaster! Really weird fellow, ruler of a planet called Sakaar. I tried to start a revolution before Thor came, but didn't print enough pamphlets, so only my mum and her boyfriend showed up. They threw me into a gladiators match and imprisoned me."

Steve began asking question about Sakaar, probably hoping to learn a bit more about space. Thor turned his attention away and looked back over to Valkyrie. She laughed at something Carol said, and Carol was smiling, too. The Valkyrie had a right to be mad; he had driven her forcefully away from her duties, after all. But he did it to protect her. He'd lost his mother, his father, the sister he never even knew he had, his best friend, and his brother. He couldn't lose her too.

"Hey, Thor!" Bruce called. Thor looked over immediately.

"Yes?" He called back, vaulting over the couch and walking over to where Bruce stood over the tracking device.

"There was only one ship, right?" Bruce asked, looking up briefly to meet the mis-matched eyes of Thor.

"That's correct, yes," Thor confirmed. "Why?"

"Because there's another ship. And its approaching the compound rapidly."

…

"Well, shit!"

Loki looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow; Bucky placed his hands over Cooper's ears and hissed, "Language!"

"What did you do this time?" Stephen asked, rolling his eyes exasperatedly.

"I left my gun somewhere."

"How responsible of you," Bucky deadpanned.

"I swear I had it on me!" Sam argued.

"Do you always fight like this?" Quill asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes!" Sam and Bucky answered at the same time. Loki exchanged a glance with Stephen, who seemed to be the only other sane person in their group—well, sane and above the age of 18.

"Hey, guys, I hear something again," Spider-boy piped up. Loki was still annoyed he didn't know the kid's name.

"Oh, you've found another thing to almost kill us?" Sam asked in a huff. Fenris growled a warning and lashed his tail, smacking into the tree that called himself Groot.

"I am Groot!" He huffed

"Oh, stop whining," Drax snapped, and Groot rolled his eyes.

"How about instead of squabbling like a band of fools we continue with the task at hand?"

Loki let his narrowed green gaze wander around the group, who were all staring at him now. At least their mouths were closed, Loki mused. They were trying—keyword being _trying_—to come up with a way to alert people nearby of their presence. It'd be a lot easier than wandering around trying to locate others themselves, as the Spider-boy pointed out. Sam had offered to shoot a few rounds in the air, but since his gun was missing that was a no-go.

"Sorcerer," Loki addressed, turning to Stephen. The man in question turned from the spell he was trying to cast to lock eyes with Loki.

"Better than wizard," he mumbled, before nodding at Loki to continue.

"Perhaps we could use magic?" Loki suggested, lifting his hand to show the green energy pulsing at his fingertips.

"How can you teleport people if you don't know where they are?" Stephen asked. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Not teleport, you fool. I meant as a signal. In the air, of course!" Stephen eyes lit up with understanding

"That could work," he agreed, nodding slightly. Loki scoffed.

"Of course it will. I suggested it."

"Oh, yeah, and that turn you 'suggested' about a quarter-mile back? The one that led us to a cliff that almost _killed us?_" Quill piped up.

Loki pointed a finger at him. "That was one time."

"Alright, ladies, break it up!" Sam said, pushing between the pair. Loki snarled.

"Says the one who was just arguing with Bucky like an old married—"

"That's enough, all of you!" Stephen snapped. "Loki. Are we doing this, or not?"

Loki sighed. "Yes, yes, we're doing it."

Loki lifted his hand in the air the same time Stephen began some intricate hand-gestures. Green magic flared from his fingertips and swirled up into the sky, creating a contrast against the orange of the Soul Stone. Stephen cast a spell into the sky, turning the fading green wisps into butterflies. Cooper awed at the sight, standing on his toes. The spider-boy had a similar reaction.

"That's so cool!" The pair said at the same time.

"Mr. Strange, can you teach me magic?" The Spider-kid asked, turning to the wizard. Stephen narrowed his eyes.

"It takes years to master, and I'm not quite sure how Tony'd—"

"Guys!" Bucky interrupted, standing next to Mantis at the tree-line.

"I think someone's coming," Mantis declared.

"Your signal worked!" Drax added, turning to Loki and Stephen. Stephen nodded while Loki bowed dramatically. Bucky and Mantis were right; a moment later, Loki could hear footsteps coming from the forest. He walked over to Fenris, placing a hand just behind his ear to ensure he wouldn't attack whoever appeared—they could be civilian, after all.

The undergrowth parted, and a familiar young woman pushed through, accompanied by a young girl carrying a toddler. Loki immediately recognized the woman.

_"Foster?" _

…

Everybody rushed outside to meet a blue-and-orange ship landing on the lawn next to the Commodore. Rocket seemed to recognize the ship, because he laughed and ran on all-fours.

"Yes! It's the Guardians! That's Quill's ship!" The exclaimed as he hurried passed Steve and Carol. As he slowed, he got back on two feet (_again, paws? Idk_.) Thor tried to stand next to Valkyrie, but the moment he came close she noticed him and hurried off to where Korg and Meik were. Thor let out a defeated sigh and took his place next to Bruce.

"She'll warm up eventually," the scientist offered. "Just give her time. I'm sure she'll get over it."

Thor nodded, watching the back of the ship open up into a ramp. There stood a blue cyborg-like alien, her clothes almost dipped in a mixture of grease and oil. Behind her, Tony Stark himself.

"Oh, Tones! Thank god!" Rhodey exclaimed, pushing past everyone else. He pulled his best friend into a hug, giving him a few pats on the back for good measure. Tony grunted in response.

As the two men hugged, Thor turned his attention to Rocket. The raccoon's face had fallen, and he slowly walked up to the blue cyborg-alien coming off the ship behind Tony.

"Nebula? Where's everyone else?" He asked. Thor could tell he already knew the answer. Quill and the Guardians had faded away with half the universe.

"I'm sorry, rodent. I couldn't save any of them," Nebula murmured. Rocket lowered his gaze, before turning away and walking back inside the compound. Thor was about to go after him, but Bruce placed a hand on his forearm.

"Probably best we give him space," Bruce advised. Thor nodded and turned back to Tony and Rhodey. The two had broken apart, Tony's broken gaze scanning the ranks in front of him.

"Where's Pepper?"

"Been trying to get a hold of her and Happy for a while. Phone lines were shit the first couple of weeks after the.. y'know, because everybody was trying to call loved ones. The lines seemed to have crashed, not fixed yet. Not many employees left to fix it'd be my guess. I'm sure she's okay," he was quick to add, but Tony had found Steve's eyes and stumbled towards him.

"You," he hissed menacingly.

"Tony—" Rhodey started, but he was ignored.

"This all happened because of you!" Tony accused, pointing a shaky finger against the captains chest. "I _told you—_I warned all of you!" He turned his blazing brown gaze along the group of remaining Avengers. "I told you that we were in the Endgame! I said that what _we _needed was a suit of armor around the world! I saw this coming six years ago, but nobody believed me!" Tony's voice was full of venom as he stumbled along the line of Avengers, hate mostly directed at a poker-faced Steve Rogers. Whatever had happened in the past few years, Thor assumed it had to do with those two.

Tony spun back around, the action making him stumble and almost fall. The genius regained his balance and stomped back towards Steve.

"I remember asking you how we'd beat this. I fucking _asked _you, and do you remember what you said?" Before Steve could answer, Tony continued. "You said_ together. _I said we'd lose, you said we'd do that together, too!" Tony was spitting in Steve's face now, his whole body trembling. "Guess what, Cap? We lost. We fucking _lost _and you _weren't there!_ None of you were! The kid—he—oh fuck, he's gone, and his aunt—the kid's gone, Rogers, and I fucking blame you! We lost and _you weren't there!" _

"The kid? What kid?" Steve asked in pure confusion.

"It doesn't matter who the kid was! He's dead! He died in my arms, on an alien planet, practically by himself! Surrounded by aliens who had just faded before him, and while they didn't know what was going on he did!"

"Tony! Come on, man. Let's just calm down.." Rhodey grabbed the man by the wrist and guided him towards the compound.

Thor watched him go, arms crossed. "I have no clue what just happened," he stated dumbly.

"Me either. Anybody care to explain?" Bruce added, mostly looking at Steve.

"I'll explain later," Steve murmured, turning to follow Rhodey and a struggling, cursing Tony.

Thor watched everybody file after him, and Thor grabbed Val by the wrist before she could follow. The warrior fixed him with a death stare.

"What?" She demanded.

"We need to talk. Now."

Thor led Valkyrie around the outside of the Compound until they came to an empty patch of grass, away from prying eyes. Thor released the Valkyrie's wrist, which she snatched back harshly.

"What do you want, your highness?"

"I want to fix whatever's going on between us," Thor huffed.

"Good luck," Valkyrie snorted.

"Val, I'm serious!" Thor started.

"And so am I," Valkyrie replied. "I'm going to go find lackey. He's at least better company, as long as he doesn't dig through my head again—"

"Loki's dead," Thor mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Valkyrie asked. "It sounded like you just told me Loki's dead. Didn't you say when I arrived that he'd survived the Statesman?"

"He did," Thor confirmed, his voice breaking. "But when Thanos snapped, he…"

Valkyrie's face fell. "Oh," she said simply.

"That's why I sent you away. Not only to protect our people—which is one of the reasons I shoved you in a pod. I needed you as far away from Thanos as possible so you didn't, y'know die."

"Dying is kind of my job," Valkyrie pointed out.

"Yes, but it doesn't have to be. When I watched my brother crumple away to dust in my arms, I knew I had made the right decision in sending you away."

"I could have still died; the snap affected the entire universe," Valkyrie pointed out bluntly.

Thor smiled. "Yes, you could have. But I wouldn't have had to watch you die. I could go on not knowing for sure if you were dead or not. I'd at least have hope. But, you're alive, so all of that didn't matter."

"So, you were only protecting yourself from getting hurt is what you're saying?"

"What—no, that's not—"

"You're only digging a deeper hole for yourself, Lord of Thunder," Valkyrie snapped. Before Thor could stop her, she turned and left. Thor let out a defeated groan. He looked up with a sad blue eye, his fake amber eye staring lifelessly along side it.

"Brother, you were always better with words, weren't you? I guess I didn't give you enough credit for your silver tongue. I've only made a mess of things." He allowed a sad smile to spread across his features, looking down to the ground again. "If you were here, you'd probably tell me to stop being a sentimental fool. Which would probably be followed up with some advice. Unfortunately for me I didn't get the wisdom in our family," Thor snorted, raising his head again. "You aren't here to tell me what to do next. You promised me when we were children that when I became king, you'd stand beside me as my advisor. Tell me, brother, why is it the fates have chosen you to not stand at all?"

Thor looked up at the darkening sky, awaiting an answer. When none came, his blue eye shifted from grief to determination. "Thanos turned you into dust, baby brother. But I swear to you I will pick up each tiny grain and glue you together myself if it means I get you back. That madman will cause you harm no longer. He won't be able to after I remove his head from his body with Stormbreaker."

Thor turned to head back into the compound, before stopping and uttering two last words to a brother he knew probably couldn't hear him.

"I promise."

...

_**One Favourite = One Carol x Valkyrie vote**_

_**One review = One Loki x Valkyrie vote **_

_**(i love both ships and i can't decide, so unless you specify in your comment that u want carol x val, its going as loki x val. thanks y'all!)**_


	12. screams in Sakaarian

_**hOLY SHIT YOU GUYS I AM SO SORRY!**_

_**Yeah, I've been gone for a while, but the next chapter is almost done! As I've mentioned in any PM's I may have gotten regarding my absence, I am currently doing summer school. I start my first year of high school this September, and I'm kind of freaking out ngl, but the course I'm doing is helping quite a bit. **_

_**Anyways, y'all probably don't care, but just thought I'd explain to everybody why there's been no chapter for almost a mONTH NOW OML GUYS IM SO SORRYYY!**_

_**I'm halfway done the chapter, and find I'm having to plow through it. Basically, the next chapter is just setting up that time-skip i forgot a few chapters back, so you no longer have to imagine! Woohoo! It'll be acknowledging the struggles each non-dusted character is going through after losing their loved ones, while our gang in the Soul Stone gather up a group to find a way to free themselves. (basically I'm just pulling a Nintendo and adding more characters to the fray so I can confuse myself even more and not understand how to write each character wOOHOO!)**_

_**Oh yeah, also might be good to mention I saw Far From Home. It was everything I wanted and more! Gotta love Led Zepplin, amiright? **_

_**Right? **_

_**Guys?**_

_**enough of that. Because I feel bad, I'll give you guys a small exert from the next chapter. For all you new readers who are binging all 11 (technically 12) chapters, please do stick around. The next chapter should be up within the next few weeks if i stop procrastinating enough to just hecking dO IT! **_

_**Yeah, anyways, here you guys go. Sorry again! **_

...

"I am not dead," Loki pointed out. "Or—well, I _am, _but technically we all are."

"What?" Jane asked in a monotone voice, and Loki shook his head.

"I'll explain later," Loki decided, and Jane blinked as if trying to comprehend that. "Do you know if anyone else is here? Dr. Selvig? Your friend who used that electricity-weapon on my brother?"

"Oh, he's your brother now?"

"I didn't say brother— answer the question!"

"No, I haven't seen anyone else in this hell of a forest. If I had, they'd be with me. Does that answer your question?" Jane said, a bite to her voice.

"Well, I suppose that's satisfactory-"

"Tell me about being dead, then!"

Loki frowned, and Stephen stepped up instead.

"Dr. Foster," he greeted formally. "My name is doctor Stephen Strange."

"He's a wizard!" Cooper piped up, and his siblings looked at Stephen with awe written all over their features.

"Sorcerer," Stephen corrected.

"Great. You going to tell me what's going on?" Jane asked impatiently.

"A giant purple raisin with dreams of universal genocide dancing in his head got his hands on the infinity stones, that's what!" Sam huffed, and Peter snorted with laughter at his definition.

"I'm sorry, that's immature of me, but _raisin?_" Peter wheezed. Loki rolled his eyes at the child, forcing back a fond smirk.

Jane looked utterly confused. "The infinity stones? Like the one we saw on.. Whatever that place was called?" Jane asked, turning to Loki.

"Correct. The aether that you housed in your body was the Reality stone," Loki confirmed.

"There were six stones altogether, each possessing a vital part of our universe; Power, Space, Soul, Mind, Time and Reality. The stones were separated, as they are impossible for any mortal to wield together."

"Even holding one will blast you to bits," Quill added, stepping up with Drax in tow.

"Yes. It is very painful," Drax agreed.

"Course, we could do it because we're the Guardians of the freakin'Gala-"

"And that's enough from you," Loki decided, twisting his palm and making the two guardians walk away without consent. Quill barked a 'hey!' as his feet moved on their own.

"And so a being powerful enough to hold all six emerged, collecting the stones that we tried to protect," Stephen was explaining to Jane as though the interruptions never happened.

"So… where are _we?" _Jane asked hesitantly.

"Well," Stephen began hesitantly, "it's kind of difficult to explain-"

"Our souls are currently trapped inside one of the infinity stones, Soul, until we can find a way out," Loki cut in, crossing his arms in boredom. He earned a glare from Stephen, which caused him to smirk.

"Well, how are we going to get out?" Jane asked. "If this stone is like a cage, there has to be a way out. Right?"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"We have yet to discover a means of escape," Loki mumbled.

"Wonderful."

There was quiet except for the children's excited chatter, the Guardians' jokes and Sam bickering with Bucky. Fenrir was sitting next to Loki, almost as though he was afraid to leave his side.

"So.." Jane began. "What's with the wolf?"

...

_**Yeah. Sorry. As always, thanks for sticking around guys! If any of you guys have suggestions for improvements or would like to request a certain something for the next few chapters, the final battle, etc. please do feel free to contact me via PM! If you're on desktop, you'll see a lovely envelope just next to my username that will bring you to my PMs! I answer every single one, so if you have questions or requests or whatever, feel free to send 'em there! Or if you wanna help a poor soul write the characters better, like poor Capsicle and Natasha who I feel like i'm ruining (of course it had to be the dead characters i ruined. so much for honouring the dead,) you can pop your suggestions in the PMs. I'd rather you use a PM so I can reply easier because I don't get notified with reviews! But if you would like to review, feel free, I just might not see it for a while and may not reply entirely. **_

_**shoot i'm supposed to be finishing an assignment- **_

_**gotta go save my grades byeee**_


	13. Isn't It Lovely?

**AN: Yeah, uh, hi again. I 100% didn't expect this chapter to be finished as quickly as it was... but it is, so here I am. Again. I guess that note yesterday really didn't need to happen! Anyways, we are nearing the end of this story, with only 3-4 chapters left. I might be doing an epilogue, which is where the '4' comes in there, but it depends on how far I go with the last chapter. This chapter is starting to introduce some plot, which is great!**

**Also, please tell me you people have seen Far From Home? I saw it opening night, and it was definitely a great movie! Gotta love Led Zepplin, amiright? ****sOBS uncONTroLlably **

**Alrighty then, go ahead and read the chapter!**

**_Chapter 12 ~ Isn't It Lovely? _**

"Loki? What the _fuck _are you doing here? You're dead!" Jane exclaimed. The two children behind her scampered off towards Cooper, who had stepped out from behind Sam to envelope the two in a hug.

"Well, very clearly I am not dead," Loki pointed out. "Or—well, I _am, _but technically we all are."

"What?" Jane asked in a monotone voice, and Loki shook his head.

"I'll explain later," Loki decided, and Jane blinked as if trying to comprehend that. "Do you know if anyone else is here? Dr. Selvig? Your friend who used that electricity-weapon on my brother?"

"Oh, he's your brother now?"

"I didn't say brother— answer the question!"

"No, I haven't seen anyone else in this hell of a forest. If I had, they'd be with me. Does that answer your question?" Jane said, a bite to her voice.

"Well, I suppose that's satisfactory-"

"Tell me about being dead, then!"

Loki frowned, and Stephen stepped up instead.

"Dr. Foster," he greeted formally. "My name is doctor Stephen Strange."

"He's a wizard!" Cooper piped up, and his siblings looked at Stephen with awe written all over their features.

"Sorcerer," Stephen corrected.

"Great. You going to tell me what's going on?" Jane asked impatiently.

"A giant purple raisin with dreams of universal genocide dancing in his head got his hands on the infinity stones, that's what!" Sam huffed, and Peter snorted with laughter at his definition.

"I'm sorry, that's immature of me, but _raisin?_" Peter wheezed. Loki rolled his eyes at the child, forcing back a fond smirk.

Jane looked utterly confused. "The infinity stones? Like the one we saw on.. Whatever that place was called?" Jane asked, turning to Loki.

"Correct. The aether that you housed in your body was the Reality stone," Loki confirmed.

"There were six stones all together, each possessing a vital part of our universe; Power, Space, Soul, Mind, Time and Reality. The stones were separated, as they are impossible for any mortal to wield together."

"Even holding one will blast you to bits," Quill added, stepping up with Drax in tow.

"Yes. It is very painful," Drax agreed.

"Course, we could do it because we're the Guardians of the freakin'Gala-"

"And that's enough from you," Loki decided, twisting his palm and making the two guardians walk away without consent. Quill barked a 'hey!' as his feet moved on their own.

"And so a being powerful enough to hold all six emerged, collecting the stones that we tried to protect," Stephen was explaining to Jane as though the interruptions never happened.

"So… where are _we?" _Jane asked hesitantly.

"Well," Stephen began hesitantly, "it's kind of difficult to explain-"

"Our souls are currently trapped inside one of the infinity stones, Soul, until we can find a way out," Loki cut in, crossing his arms in boredom. He earned a glare from Stephen, which caused him to smirk.

"Well, how are we going to get out?" Jane asked. "If this stone is like a cage, there has to be a way out. Right?"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"We have yet to discover a means of escape," Loki mumbled.

"Wonderful."

There was quiet except for the children's excited chatter, the Guardians' jokes and Sam bickering with Bucky. Fenrir was sitting next to Loki, almost as though he was afraid to leave his side.

"So.." Jane began. "What's with the wolf?"

…

It was a blur when Clint and Natasha arrived. The rest of the Avengers were surprised to see their friends change in demeanor and overall weariness.

Upon arrival to the compound, they did their best to catch up and explain to Clint what exactly happened. He wasn't happy, of course, but he didn't comment on the Loki part of the explanation. He trusted Natasha, and if she said Loki was helpful he believed her.

When Clint has explained what had happened with his family, even saying the… 'f' word was forbidden. Nobody mentioned it around him after their first time making the mistake.

They had been eating all together for the first time in a while when Tony had partially apologized to Steve and the others for his outburst. (Keyword: partially.)

"I shouldn't have yelled at you guys as much as I did. Especially you, Brucie-bear." The inventor had managed a weak smile. "You're like family to me."

And just like that, all hell broke loose. Clint slammed his fist on the table, startling everybody— even Valkyrie, which turned out to be a difficult task. He'd stood up so fast his chair fell with a loud slam, and the ex-archer had stormed off. Natasha had hurried after him, following him to his room, but the door was slammed shut and locked so she left him be; he needed space, to cool down and to fully come to terms with the loss.

A week after Nat's and Clint's arrival, Korg had discovered the compounds printer. (Steve regrets his decision to show the rock creature around and help him to understand earth better immediately.) The gladiator had printed off countless revolution pamphlets and had begun handing them out to everybody. Miek followed his companion closely but had started second-guessing his choice of friends. He then decides that out of those on Sakaar, he got lucky; there were much worse in the universe. Doug was not one of them. Poor Doug.

After another week passed, Carol had decided to continue her duties to the universe; help out the other planets in the universe and possibly figure out how to reverse the effects of the blip. (That was what the news outlets had started calling the incident, and it had sort of stuck.) Rocket and Nebula decided to help; they were no use sitting around doing nothing anyways. The trio took the Benatar and left Earth's orbit. (Valkyrie had considered joining them, but Bruce had talked her out of it.)

Thor had been struggling to get Valkyrie to speak with him again. After their chat behind the Compound, the other Asgardian barely even spared the thunder god a glance. Every time Thor tried to spike up conversation, Valkyrie either ignored him or fled the area completely. It made Thor's heart break more because by trying to save another person he cared about, he had only lost her anyway. Besides dealing with stubborn female warriors and walking rock creatures handing out pamphlets, Thor had been searching the galaxy for the Asgardians with the technology Bruce had helped him concoct when they were looking for Valkyrie. He hadn't had any luck yet, but he still had hope. On top of that, he was trying to find somewhere for the refugees to stay once he found them. He considered calling up Wakanda, but the country was dealing with who to appoint king/queen. Not only had T'Challa faded, but Shuri had too. Rhodey had used his spare time from helping Tony recover to speak with governments from Scotland, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway to find a place for the refugees. So far, only Norway and Iceland had humored them.

Bruce was trying to settle scores with the Big Guy, try and sort out what was going on. If confronting a toddler and wrestling three hippos were mixed together, it would explain Bruce's mental state very accurately. The scientist had even asked Natasha to try and help calm Big, Mean and Green and get him to come out (**_AN: eEEWwW! Keep it pg Brucie!)_** So far, their attempts have been in vain.

To say Tony was struggling would be an understatement. Of course, everybody was; the whole universe was, for Christ's sake! However, Tony was having a different kind of struggle. It was no secret to the Avengers that Tony Stark suffered from PTSD. Tony had shared it one night with the team before it all went to shit. Every original Avenger (and Peter, but Peter was gonegonegonegone**gone-**) knew about it. Who would've thought that, with the Great Wormhole of 2012™, flying in a donut to space would bring back some unwanted memories. Fuck, the man had watched his intern (_son_) fade away to dust before his eyes, all the whole the teenager begged for Tony to save him.

"_I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark! Please, sir, I don't wanna go!"_

And Tony tried to save him, oh God, he _tried!_ But the boy faded away between his fingers. (gonegonegonegonegone-) Tony may be a billionaire, genius, playboy philanthropist, but he wasn't some heartless monster. That was his kid, whether he agreed to it or not. On top of his mental issues, whatever was left of the UN was trying to contact him left and right; apparently the inventors return had leaked. Rhodey did his best to keep them away. Pepper had joined the fray soon before Clint's arrival, and though she was trying to settle SI, she was also smothering her husband-to-be.

And then there was Steve. A man out of time, a man out of place. The soldier didn't know what to do with himself. He was constantly in and out of the compound, making trips to the city on his motorcycle to help out law enforcement and keep everything calm. Without Bucky, he didn't feel right. Nothing felt real. He'd just gotten his best friend, his childhood friend, his _Bucky_ back and it was all taken away from him with a simple snap. Steve often found himself wondering what would happen if he hadn't been frozen for 70 years. If he had been found earlier. If he had gotten that dance with Peggy. With everything that had happened, Steve missed his best girl more than ever. He found himself carrying around the compass with her picture in it more often. He never left his room without it. He looked at it more often, savoring every black-and-white detail of her face. Saving it in his mind so he didn't forget. He didn't want to forget.

Earths Mightiest Heroes were in shambles. On top of all their problems, they still have yet to find a way to reverse the snap. They have no idea where Thanos is, or if he's even still alive.

All they know is that they're all fucked up, probably need a bucket-load of therapy, and that the printer should be unplugged and/or disposed of quickly, before Korg makes any more pamphlets.

…

Barely any time passed in the Soul stone. The group, now adding three additional members, continued on their quest to gather a battle force. A day after Jane and Cooper's siblings were introduced to the group, Stephen pulled Loki aside and spoke to him quietly.

"Loki, I need your help," Stephen hissed urgently, grabbing the trickster by the wrist and dragging him away from the group as they set up camp. Loki grudgingly let himself be led away, keeping on a playful façade.

"You? Need _my _help?" Loki gasped dramatically. "This wretched stone must be having some effect on you, dear Stephen!"

"No, it's not having any effect on me!" Stephen snapped. "I've just decided the best way to get out of here, and you happen to be a vital part of it!"

"Do tell," Loki prompted, prying his wrist away from where Stephen still had a shaky grip. Stephen glancing around cautiously, and when he decided they were far away from any enhanced ears, he spoke.

"I've known how to get out of the Soul stone the whole time," he confessed with a sigh. Loki blinked.

"You _what?_" He hissed. "All of this time, you could have gotten us _out?"_

"Loki—" Stephen started, but the trickster cut him off as he continued to rant.

"My brother and those buffoons he calls friends could be _dying _in the real world, trying to bring us back, and you could get us out the _whole bloody time?_" Loki all-but screeched.

"Loki, if you'd just calm down and listen to me for a second, I'd explain!" Stephen tried.

"_Calm down? _Are you serious? No, Stephen, I will not _calm down!" _Loki spat. "We've been trapped here for Odin knowns how long, following you like a bunch of clueless ducklings when really you knew how to free us the entire time! What was your plan, really? Gather us all up just to watch us run around, trying to solve a puzzle you already had all the pieces to?"

"Loki, quiet or the others will hear!" Stephen hissed, an edge of urgency in his voice.

"Oh, so now you want to silence me? I—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Stephen had tackled him to the ground. His cloak slid away from the sorcerers shoulders and wrapped around Loki's wrists, holding them above his head. Loki grunted, and when Stephen drew his hand away to cover his mouth Loki bit down as hard as he could.

It was kind of insensitive, really, considering the man had damaged hands, but when has Loki ever played fair?

Stephen clenched his teeth to stop a shriek of pain, tightening his grip on Loki.

"Would you shut your goddamn mouth and let me explain?" Stephen snapped. Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Go ahead, defend yourself. I appear to be.. outmatched at the current moment," Loki spat.

Stephen took a calming breath. "I needed to wait a few days within the stone before they were ready for us," he explained.

"Who was ready for us?" Loki asked, quirking a brow.

"The Avengers, obviously."

"And how would you be aware of that in here, hm? Another secret you've been keeping in that mind of yours you wish to tell?" Loki demanded.

"Simple. I saw the future," Stephen shrugged.

"Now how in the Nine Realms did you manage that?" Loki spluttered.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Protector of the Time Stone, idiot. Before we fought Thanos, I used the stone to look at the future, to see how we win. In the different timelines, we escaped too early and too late. This is the best time to start getting out."

"And how _do _we get out?" Loki asked, shimmying his hands a bit to try and free them. The cloak kept it's tight hold, however, and Loki was stuck in the uncomfortable position.

"You," Stephen stated simply.

"Me?" Loki repeated. "What the hel am I supposed to do? Snap my fingers and all will be sunshine and rainbows again?"

"Go to hell."

"The insult was uncalled for, Stephen. I thought we'd really started connecting there."

Stephen sighed. "No, I mean physically _go to hell._ It's a realm, right? You've been before."

"Once or twice, yes," the prince confirmed. "But how is that supposed to solve our problem?"

"Your sister is the queen of hell, right?" Stephen asked.

"Yes," Loki replied slowly, frowning suspiciously. "Where are you going with this?"

"You need to travel to hell and convince your sister to help us," Stephen revealed.

"And how do you expect I do that? Waltz on down to hell with a box of chocolates and ask my dear evil sister to forgive me for unleashing fire demon on her and expect her to welcome me with open arms? How do you even expect me to get the hel? If you haven't noticed, we're kind of trapped in a stone with no means of escape!"

"Well…" Stephen began with a wince.

"What?" Loki snapped. "Tell me, damnit!"

"We're in the Soul stone; we are nothing but souls. If one of us were to die in the stone, our souls would be freed to go to heaven or hell," Stephen explained, trailing off and the end. Loki's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No, nonono, this is a _horrible _idea!"

"It's the only way!" Stephen insisted.

"I am not dying just to humor you!" Loki huffed. "What if my dear old _dad _decides I'm too good for hell, and I go to Valhalla instead? Your plan will have failed!"

"Oh, trust me," Stephen grinned, "you won't be going to 'Valhalla.'"

"How do you know?" Loki snapped defensively.

"Because I've seen the future. You go to hell, trust me," Stephen snickered.

"Har-har, I'm an evil monster," Loki drawled sarcastically.

"Your evil nature has actually helped save the universe," Stephen pointed out.

"When?"

"Earth 1999999."

"…What?"

"Don't worry about it," Stephen dismissed. "Just trust me. This is the only way."

"Consider yourself trusted. Can I get up now?" Loki asked, squirming underneath the sorcerer.

"Oh—right," Stephen stammered, going bright red. Loki snorted as Stephen stood and recalled his cloak. Loki stood and brushed himself off.

"Right then. I suppose your theory could work, if I could get Hela to listen to me," Loki decided.

"Well, I'm sure with that _'silver-tongue'_ of yours you brag about, you'll be just fine."

"Why did that sound sarcastic?" Loki asked, tilting his head.

"Because it was, genius."

"You don't believe I have a silver-tongue?" Loki smirked.

"No, I believe you. How else would you have hidden Odin for as long as you did?"

Loki blinked. "You know I have an _actual _silver tongue? The nickname isn't just because of my amazing skills of manipulation and flattery."

"Yeah, sure," Stephen rolled his eyes. "You have a huge ego, by the way."

When Stephen looked back at Loki, the god had his tongue sticking out of his mouth. It was _actually _made of silver, the metallic sheen glinting in the dying light.

"What the fuck—"

"Believe me now?" Loki smirked and retracted his tongue.

"Yes— why the hell is your tongue silver? Were you born that way?"

"No, actually," Loki sighed. "Just a… deal gone wrong, I suppose."

Stephen frowned. "They cut off your tongue?"

"Amongst other things, yes."

The two lapsed into silence, before Loki spoke.

"So why didn't we have this discussion with the rest of the group?" Loki asked.

"Because they aren't going to know."

Loki blinked and crossed his arms. "You don't trust them?"

"In the future where they knew, they stopped you and we were trapped forever."

"Oh," Loki mumbled. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Let's hope you're actually good at lying, Mr. Silver-tongue-as-in-literal-tongue-of-silver."

"Oh, trust me," Loki laughed, "you haven't seen anything yet."

...

_**Grandmaster:**_** [sitting in a theatre, watching this all go down with a bowl of popcorn]**

_**Grandmaster: **_**Wow... The plot thickens.**

_**Grandmaster: **_**I didn't even know we had a plot.**


	14. Dancing with the Devil

**_AN:_**** Heyo! Yeah, so, I updated this chapter like 2 minutes ago and the code appeared for some reason, soooo**

**Yeah, I'm not typing out my AN again. So i'll cut it short. **

**I have one fucking busy week coming up. **

**im dead inside**

**here have a chapter while i cry over my lost AN.**

**_Chapter 13 ~ Dancing with the Devil_**

"Repeat the plan again."

"Oh, bloody hell! I've said it half a million times by now!"

"Well, we don't want to screw this up, do we?"

"We? Or _you?_ I believe I know the plan just fine, thank you."

"If we screw this up, all of us stay dead and the universe falls apart. Which do you prefer; repeating the goddamn plan again, or being trapped in a stone forever while the universe crumbles around us?"

Loki tolled his eyes with a scoff. "Honestly, Stephen! I thought you saw the future, hm? If you saw the future, you should know the plan!"

Stephen sighed. "It doesn't work that way," he huffed. "Please, for the love of Jesus, repeat the plan already!"

"Fine, but if the others notice our absence don't blame me," Loki mumbled grumpily, crossing his arms. He let out a long breath, before reciting the plan he took a whole 10 minutes to formulate (it would have gone quicker without Stephens constant bickering— one would think the man would take a hint and let the brilliant mind work.)

"We go back to whatever sort of camp those morons have set up, make sure none of them are dead, then I say I'm going to scout for more victims of the snap, and then kill myself and make it look like an attack. Happy?" He finished with a huff, glaring daggers in Stephens direction.

"_Thank_ you. Was it really that hard?"

"Is it really that hard for you to keep your mouth closed instead spewing useless sarcasm?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "You've spewed nothing but useless sarcasm since the moment you encountered Thanos' ship in space, I can assure you."

Loki snorted. "And how would you know?"

"I'm a wizard. Duh."

"Oh for the love of- you've spent too much time with that Spider-child!"

"How about we get to saving the universe before they notice we're still gone?" Stephen prompted.

"Of course! Start an argument, begin to lose said argument, then order me to move along. Very smooth, Stephen."

And with that, the two sorcerers pushed through the undergrowth of the clearing they'd been speaking in and began the relatively short journey back to where their group was last located.

When they arrived at the campsite, there was already a stack of firewood collected. Bucky was hunched over a stack of wood trying to get a fire started, while Sam was telling him he was doing it wrong. Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel were all crowded around Fenrir, running their small fingers through his fur, talking to him and giggling— somehow, Nathaniel had gotten on Fenrir's head and was playing with the wolf's ear (Fenrir didn't mind; he looked quite content.) The Spider-boy was arguing with Quill about some stupid food venue on Earth, while Jane was discussing space and science with the rest of the Guardians. As Stephen and Loki arrived, all heads turned to them.

Jane was the first to speak.

"And where the hell were you two?"

"We went to survey the area," Stephen replied coolly, striding passed her to help Bucky and Sam light the fire; he waved his hands and flames appeared, earning a grunt from Sam.

"Stupid magic…"

Loki glared fire at Stephen; he'd used the wrong excuse, and now Loki would have to compromise. Judging from the shit-eating grin Loki was met with when Stephen looked up, the sorcerer knew he screwed up the plan. Damn idiot…

"Maybe next time you could share your whereabouts with the group? We thought you'd ran off like Romeo and Juliet," Jane said.

Stephen snorted at the reference but didn't reply. Loki was extremely confused and chose instead to use Jane's concern to his advantage.

"Well, I'm sorry _mother_. Shall I tell you the next time I take a breath, as well?" Loki snapped. Saying the word 'mother' again was… strange, but he didn't feel sorrow or anger at the memories the word brought up. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Jane crossed her arms. "I'm just saying, Mr. Emo Nightmare, that telling us you're leaving so we know not to come looking for you would be helpful. I thought we were supposed to be a team, trying to get out of the stone."

"Mr. Emo…? You know what, I'll just ignore that part. And we aren't a team; we're a bunch of clueless fools thrown together in a group because we failed to stop a titan from obliterating half of the universe! I've only put up with you lot so far because I want out of here; the moment we're free from this stone, you can fight Thanos on your ow. I'll be making the smart decision and getting as far away from Thanos as is possible."

Jane growled at him. By now, everybody had gathered in a ring around them— save for Stephen, but he was watching with interest from where he stood beside the fire. From the looks on their faces, they all bought his lie. Loki noticed, however, that Fenrir held a certain wisdom in his green eyes— almost as if he saw past Loki's manipulation and had already figured out what was happening. Loki locked eyes with the wolf and Fenrir gave the tiniest nod. Loki smirked.

"You know what, Loki?" Jane began, taking a step forwards. "You're nothing but a coward! Thor was right to leave you when you'd '_died'_ on Svlartalfheim!"

Loki growled. "Coming from the one who was dumped by said blonde maniac!"

"He didn't dump me, I dumped him!" Jane huffed. "It was a mutual dumping!"

Loki nodded. "Ah, yes, that's right; you didn't want to face the fact my brother had no use of you anymore, so to make yourself feel better you told yourself that you were finished with him too. Sorry, I forgot how relationships with mortals go."

Jane growled and was about to charge at Loki when Stephen held her back with shaking hands.

"No. Let him leave. He's not worth it," Stephen growled. Loki met the other sorcerers gaze and nodded. As Loki turned away, the circle parted for him to pass through. As he left the group of faded heroes behind, he couldn't help but grin.

_This is too easy_.

…

The first word from Carol, Rocket and Nebula came a month after their departure. Steve had been in the kitchen, chin resting on his folded hands with a piece of toast half-eaten in front of him. His compass from the army sat closed next to his plate, and Steve had his blue eyes fixed against it intently.

His thoughts were disrupted, though, by FRIDAY.

**"Incoming transmission from the Benatar."**

Steve jumped at the AI's voice, blinking at the blue screen now floating in front of him. The screen held three white dots, a loading screen, until Carol Danvers popped up. She nodded to him.

"Captain Rogers."

"Ma'am. How's the rest of the universe holding up?" He asked, lowering his hands away from his face.

Carol shrugged. "Not too great, if I'm being honest," she sighed. "Planets are in ruins, while others are in a blind panic. We just finished helping out Stent and it's inhabitants."

"Will you be returning soon?" The captain questioned. "It's quiet around here without Rocket."

"We're halfway across the galaxy, Steve," Carol replies with a sad smile. "And Rocket hasn't been that lively since we left. I don't know if it's me or the snap that's got him down. Besides, haven't you got that rock guy?"

Steve sighed and placed his head in his hands. "Do _not_ even get me started with Korg. Do you know what he did the other day? He broke the compounds Xbox controller playing some video game. Clint was _pissed._"

"That bad, huh?" She sighed sympathetically, knowing what Clint was like when he was angry. Recently, his anger had doubled, so the sight wasn't all that uncommon. Anyone who set Clint off was frowned upon. "Well," she began, "better you than me."

"Well fuck you, too, Danvers."

"Dirty mouth, eh?"

"Oh for the love of god-"

"-bless America."

Steve sighed. "You've definitely been hanging around Fury, huh?"

"Well, for a few months if you count space travel, yeah. It was a while ago. We couldn't really keep in touch while I was away from Earth because he lacked the technology. Besides, you forget I'm from Earth."

"How could I? You sure act like you are."

Carol snorted. "Well, I better go. Rocket hates when Nebula is his co-pilot and we're just exiting the atmosphere."

"Good luck, Ms. Danvers."

"You too, Captain."

And with that, she was gone.

…

Tony slammed his notepad on his workbench in frustration, pushing his chair away and feeling it slowly roll across the lab.

Ever since he'd gotten out of the med bay, he'd been working nonstop to find a solution to the blip. Sometimes Pepper would come down with a glass of water and a meal, talk to him for a bit, before giving up and leaving. Rhodey even came down a few times to check up on him, but Tony just ignored them, scribbling furiously on his notepad.

And he'd been so fucking _close_, but now he's struck a dead end and he was stumped. Him, Tony fucking _Stark, _was stumped. Tony growled and put his head in his hands. No matter what he tried, what equation, approach, scenario, nothing _worked! _

And what was worse, he kept finding Peter's things everywhere.

After Toomes, Tony invited Peter to his lab every Friday to work on his suit and his web-shooters. Occasionally, they'd work on one of Tony's projects.

The first time he came down to the lab, he'd found the boys decathlon jacket and his homework. He'd given the items one look and his heart shattered.

_"M-mr. Stark?" _

He'd thrown the homework across the lab and into a wall but couldn't bring himself to do the same to the jacket. So, instead, he kept it. He now found the yellow material grounding.

_"Mr. Stark, I-I don't feel so good."_

He'd taken the notebook Peter had used for his homework, too, and used it to write his equations and solutions on. When he got stumped or couldn't get his brain to work anymore, he'd flip back the pages to notes and equations the boy did in it.

_"I don't know what's happening…"_

Thinking about the notebook, present Tony rolled his chair back to his workbench and closed the book, gliding his fingers along the cover.

_"Please, sir."_

Tony glanced to the side where the decathlon jacket was hanging off the back of a chair. _Peter's _chair.

Peter was sitting in the chair, bent over his web-shooters with a screwdriver in his hand, tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. Tony shakily approached. When he stood a few steps away from the chair, Peter turned to him.

Except his face was bloody and turning to dust.

"Please, sir," he whispered hoarsely, "I don't wanna go."

And then Tony was on Titan again, rushing forwards to catch the boy as his legs crumpled to dust beneath him.

"I don't wanna go!" The teenager cried.

"I got you, kid," Tony said, because what else could he have said? The kid was sobbing in his arms as he turned to dust.

Tony twisted to lie Peter on some rubble of the previously inhabited planet, unable to support his weight with his injury.

_"I'm sorry."_

With a roar, Tony turned around and swept all his tools, papers, research and data off his workbench and to the floor. Panting, he sank down to his knees and held his head in his hands, covering his eyes.

"Goddamnit!" He screamed, slamming a fist on the ground beneath him.

Peter was gone, and like the rest that faded, he wasn't coming back.

…

Loki didn't walk far, only far enough that no one would hear him.

He came across a river not too far from the camp and crouched down at the edge.

"Damnit, Strange, this had better work," Loki growled, before summoning a dagger to his hand.

He couldn't just snap his own neck and be done with it. He had to make this believable. If one of his group mates (ex group mates) were to come across his body, they'd be suspicious. Even if he made it look like suicide, he was sure that the smart spider-boy would figure out something was off.

So, he needed to be… 'attacked.'

And he had to lose.

Damn, this plan would be ruining his pride.

With a low growl, Loki brought the knife to his clothed upper arm and sliced.

His sleeve ripped with the knife, and so did his flesh. Blood oozed out from the fabric in a small cut.

"Great. One down, several dozen more to go."

And so he kept cutting, cutting, cutting until he was littered with scratches and wounds that bled painfully.

Next, he shuffled over to a tree and rammed several body parts into the trunk, not with enough force to break anything (his bones _or_ the tree) but enough to bruise. When every part of his body hurt, he punched himself in the face to get bruised knuckles and a black eye.

When he was sure that he looked beaten up enough, he picked up his dagger with steady fingers and held it above his chest.

"Here goes nothing," he mumbled, before bringing the dagger into his flesh.

He gasped, sinking to his knees. He grunted in pain as he maneuvered himself to be half-lying in the river, watching through half-lidded eyes as the water turned crimson with blood.

His final thought was, _hel, here I come._

.

.

.

.

Loki was falling again.

He couldn't tell which way was up or which way was down. He could only remain limp and fall.

He felt the pain of his injuries littering his body, and he bit his lip to stop from crying out. His body twisted and turned as he fell, and all Loki could do was watch.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't see.

He couldn't hear.

He couldn't feel.

He couldn't _breathe._

Loki hated falling. In fact, he hated it more than anything. Ever since throwing himself off the Bifrost, he'd avoided falling like the plague—even if the drop was only a few feet. The trickster couldn't stand feeling weightless, couldn't stand the nauseating twisting and turning his body performed in free-fall.

And now he was falling again. And he didn't know why.

He fell for what felt like years. He wasn't sure if it was actually just minutes, or seconds even, but when the dreaded falling finally stopped there was suddenly ground beneath him.

As his senses returned, he assessed his situation.

Loki was lying flat on his back, a hard and rocky surface beneath him. There was no rushing water around his shoulders, so he couldn't still be in the river.

So where the hel was he?

_Oh. Right._

Loki blinked open his eyes and sat up. He was in a dark cave, lit dimly by torches. The flames we large and vicious, yet nothing was affected by the heat. Pillars of crumbling dark stone rowed a grand hallway, looking almost like an echo of Asgard's palace. But Loki could notice the difference. For one, there was no gold; just stone. The walls and pillars were crumbling away and looked like they would collapse at any moment. The ground was littered with loose stones and was cracked in certain places.

Basically, the place looked like shit.

But, if Strange was correct, he was literally in hel. So that could be why.

With a small wince, Loki gathered his sprawled limbs and stood, barely stumbling. He looked around himself in awe and noticed there was no doors anywhere. Guess there was no way out of this place.

Finally, when Loki felt that he had a good idea of the environment he was working with (in case of a fight, of course; a habit he'd learned whenever he was somewhere new,) he started to walk down the hallway. His boots created an echo as they met the floor, the sound bouncing off the walls surrounding him. Loki kept in guard, eyes flickering dangerously to each pillar he passed. Something could be lurking in the darkness. Something was always lurking in the darkness.

Finally, after a long walk, he saw something other than stone pillars. At the end of the corridor stood a throne. At least, Loki assumed it was a throne. It was made entirely of bones, bones of more than one race. They held some sort of chair-shape, yet it was still sloppy. Loki assumed that was where Hela sat.

As if on cue, a dark figure appeared on the throne. Long dark hair covered a face as the figure lounged on the chair of bones. As Loki got closer, the figure looked up.

Hela was definitely _not _the same as when Loki last saw her. His _dear _sister's hair was slightly shorter, more unkempt, and her eyes were much duller. Her cheekbones were gaunt and sunken in, and dark bags hung under her eyes. As Hela shifted more, the rest of her face was revealed.

The skin was melted away on half of her face, revealing bones and raw pink flesh. The bones continued down her neck and stopped just passed her collar bone. She still wore her black and green jumpsuit, though it was torn and better revealed her lack of skin.

Loki approached her slowly and cautiously, while Hela never took her eyes off of him. When he stood below her throne, she spoke.

"Loki. _Brother. _It appears you've come to another fateful death. How sad." Hela smirked slightly as she spoke, and Loki frowned.

"I take it you know about my other.. unfortunate demises, then?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, of course I do! Who do you think sent your soul back to your body? Not Odin, that's for sure," Hela snapped. Loki frowned. He never knew that.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why send me back? Why not hold me to torture for eternity?" Loki clarified.

"Well," Hela murmured, pondering it for a moment. "I suppose you could say I saw myself in you. You were _different,_ not like the rest of our family. And I'm not just talking about your race," Hela added when Loki opened his mouth. "You knew that Odin was a foolish old man, and you turned against him. I thought you'd be like me. Until that old witch turned you soft again," She added in a hiss. Loki growled and stepped forwards.

"Do not speak of my mother that way," he warned.

"Or you'll what? This is my realm, Loki. I rule Helheim, and I hold control over you. You cannot do anything."

Loki curled his upper lip and lowered his head. She did have a point. And he didn't come here to start fights. He had a universe to save.

"So, dear brother, why don't you tell me why you came for a visit?" Hela asked, shifting on her throne. The bones stuttered beneath her. "You killed yourself for a reason, correct."

Loki nodded. "Yes. I require your assistance."

Hela laughed, tilting her head up so her hair fell back out of her face. More of her scarred face was revealed, and Loki couldn't help but glance at it—something he'd been trying to avoid since he saw Hela.

The goddess seemed to notice where his eyes travel and bared her teeth. "You and your brother did that to me, Loki. You sent Surtur to do your dirty work instead of facing me head on, like the cowards Odin raised you to be. He melted away my flesh and banished me back here. So, tell me, why exactly should I help you?"

Loki tilted his chin up, calling upon his speaking talents he used oh so often.

"You know what Thanos has done. I know you've felt it." Hela's grin fell off her face at the mention of the Titan, so Loki continued. "That madman has wiped out half of the universe and trapped their souls. How will you reach them if they are not in your realm? How will you torture them? Hear their screams as you- "  
"Alright, I get it, I can't torture them!" Hela snapped. "So you want me to help you so I have more souls to… _play_ with?"

Hela narrowed her eyes thoughtfully before continuing.

"You know, I never wanted all this," Hela murmured, gesturing to the crumbling stone palace around them. "I never wanted to rule Helheim, I never wanted to torture souls. Never wanted the life Odin gave me. I just wanted Odin to be proud of me. That's why I helped him in his conquest. I thought that if Odin loved me enough, he wouldn't leave my mother. But, he did anyways, left him for that old hag Frigga."

Loki didn't interrupt, even though his blood boiled. He had to make her see things his way, whatever it took.

"She was the reason he stopped at Nine Realms. He fell in love with her, and she convinced him to stop. Left my mother, sent her away, threw me here. Covered up his life before. I never _wanted this. _And I know you're just like me; an outcast, a freak. Unloved by Odin and having only the goal to make him proud. That's why I kept you alive. But he changed you, like he did to the rest of Asgard. Now you're running about, playing the hero, trying to save the universe. It's funny, the way you follow Thor around like a lost puppy. Melt at his every command because you seek acceptance. I know who you are, Loki Laufeyson. But you do not know me.

"What makes you think I won't take the souls for myself once I free them? You want everybody back in the land of the living, but if you think me a monster you'd know that I'd only keep them for myself. Yet you've turned to me anyway. It makes me wonder; have you simply run out of options, or is there more?"

Loki took a deep breath. "The universe lacks balance. I can feel it, and I know you can, too. The amount of souls with the living under weigh those with the dead, and the universe is slowly breaking apart. If this continues, the universe will be destroyed entirely; Helheim included. Besides," he tilted his head, "if you truly do not want any of this, you would not want to keep the souls, anyways."

Loki stopped speaking, and Hela raised an eyebrow.

"There's more than just that, isn't there? You have a strange look on your face, but I'm not sure if that's just your resting face. If it is, I suggest you get it checked out."

"No," Loki sighed, "there is more.. You are obviously aware I am a Jötunn, correct?" Hela nodded. "You are also aware I've been affected by an infinity stone—Mind, to be exact, in the past, correct?"

"I can feel it's energy tainting your soul, that and the Space stone," Hela confirmed.

"The infinity stones are powerful entities. When Mind was used on me, I was under it's control. But when cognitive recalibration was performed to release me, it did more than just free me from the stone. It freed me from Odin."

Hela looked confused. "Explain," she ordered.

"When I was taken from Jotunheim, Odin placed a spell on me so that I would not remember the time I spent as a Jötunn; part of his plan to raise me as his son and use me as a tool later, but I'm not getting into that right now. What I will bring light to, however, is that when Odin picked me up on Jotunheim for the first time, I saw into his mind. It was intentional, obviously; my seidr worked on it's own accord, seeing as I had no way to control it yet."

"I have noticed the amount of power your magic wields," Hela murmured. "It radiates off you in waves. You're more powerful than any other sorcerer I've seen."

"I-I'm.. honored?" Loki stuttered in confusion.

"Don't get used to the compliments, brother. Continue."

"Right. Well, when I saw Odin's memories, I saw you. And Odin didn't have many memories of Thor yet, seeing as he was just born; he had more of you. So my seidr created a form similar to that it saw, and that is why we.. resemble each other so closely."

"I did notice that. You stole my color, brother."

"Apologies. It goes with our eyes." He smirked.

"Our?"

"I got my looks from you, sister. We have the same eyes."

"Whatever. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Odin did seem to think fondly of you; memories of you were stronger than any other. I still have this recollection of you; when you arrived after Odin died, you just wanted to reclaim what was taken from you, correct?"

Hela scoffed. "Obviously. The throne was my right, and Odin took that from me so I could instead play executioner away from his sight."

"Exactly. And you've just told me you never wanted to rule hel and torture souls."

"Somebody has to do it," Hela shrugged with a distant look.

"So my point is I knew that you weren't a completely horrible person and trusted our wonderous _father _one last time. I knew you would help me restore the balance without stealing the souls for yourself."

"What if Odin was wrong? What if I did want the souls for myself? You simply took a gamble in coming here for my help?"

Loki shrugged. "They do not call me the God of Chaos for nothing."

"I could have killed you the moment I laid sights on you, yet you still took the risk," Hela laughed. "I do like you, Laufeyson. It's been centuries since I've encountered a risk-taker such as yourself."

"I am one of a kind, aren't I?"

"Don't get too cocky, brother, you aren't that much of a star."

Loki rolled his eyes. "So? Will you help me?"

"On one condition. You get me out of this horrid place so I can live my life in peace."

"Of course, sister. Consider it done."

"Then we have ourselves a deal."

Loki nodded, before a sudden thought struck him.

"By the way, I found Fenrir in the Soul Realm."

"You did?" Hela's eyes lit up, the most alive he'd seen her since he'd arrived in Helheim. "You didn't harm him, did you?"

Loki scoffed. "Of course not. I'm not a murderer, contrary to popular belief. Besides, we're both adopted, so it would be wrong to kill him off for past quarrels."

"Figured that out, did you? Wolf boy isn't a real wolf?"

"Of course I did. I am such a star, aren't I?"

"Watch yourself, Laufeyson. I may change my mind about helping you."

...

_**Again, I did have something here, but I'll cut it short.**_

_**DO NOT SEND MORE THAN ONE REVIEW ABOUT A VOTE FOR A SHIP! I have two that look like they're from the same person. I refuse to copy and paste the reviews because I think that's what screwed up the last attempt at this chapter.**_

_**The ship score is:**_

_**Loki x Valkyrie with 12**_

_**Carol x Valkyrie with 7**_

_**vote in the reviews if you haven't already**_

_**.**_

_**ok**_

_**...bye lmao**_


	15. Welcome to the Black Parade

_**AN:**_** Holy shit guys that took so much longer than i expected. dONT WORRY I HAVE AN EXCUSE! i started grade 9 on the 2nd so shits been happening, and friend drama and all that jazz that comes with high school Im going to keep this short because im writing this AN at school on my phone and its a pain in the ass. soo, uh, enjoy the chapter!**

_**Chapter 14 ~ Welcome to the Black Parade**_

.

Jane wasn't quite sure what to think as Loki pushed through the bushes and out of sight. Obviously, the god had been helping the group before she'd arrived. But something about his outburst was… suspicious to her.

Nobody spoke for a few moments, until the young boy- Spider-Man, he called himself, stepped forwards.

"I'm going after him. Maybe I can talk some sense into him." The young hero set off in the direction Loki had disappeared, before pausing and looking back at Jane. "He really isn't that bad. All he's done since I've met him is be sarcastic. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said."

And then the boy was gone.

Jane sighed, bringing her hands to her head where a headache was slowly growing. She forgot how much of a handful alien God's could be. Especially Loki; he was probably the most annoying out of all Asgardians he'd met.

Jane glanced over to Dr. Strange, who was staring at her.

"What?" She asked, a bit more snap to her tone than she intended. Oh well; she was pissed and she's show it.

"I believe you should go apologize."

"To who? Loki?"

"Yes," Strange said.

"Are you serious? Weren't you the one who told me that he wasn't worth it?" Jane asked, crossing her arms.

"While I did do that, I hate to admit that Loki is a key element to getting us out of here. You should go find him."

Suddenly, the large black wolf was beside her, green eyes bearing into her brown.

"Yes, bring Fenris with you. Just in case," Strange added, nodding to the wolf mentioned.

Fenris twitched his ear and jerked his head in the direction Loki had disappeared. Jane smiled shakily— it was a two story tall fucking wolf, what was she supposed to do?!— and begins in that direction. She is faintly aware of Fenris stalking on behind her. She didn't have to walk far to catch up with the Spider-kid. Unfortunately, that's not all she found.

Spider-man was kneeling at the edge of the river without his mask, hovering over something in the water. Something that turned the water crimson. Something that was clad in green, littered in injuries and unresponsive.

Something that was… Loki?

"Oh, my god," Jane gasped, hurrying over to kneel next to the god. He was much paler than usual, with blue veins bulging out of his temples. Spider-man had two fingers pressed on the side of Loki's next, checking for a pulse.

"Is he…" Jane prompted, unable to complete the sentence. Spider-man shook his head of brown curls (how old was this kid?) sadly.

"He's gone," Spider-man replied. Jane sighed. So much for apologizing.

She felt hot breath on her neck, and Jane turned her head to see Fenris had approached. The wolf let out a sad whine, nudging the dead god with his muzzle.

"We should probably tell the others," Spider-man said quietly. Jane nodded.

"Yeah. Let's bring his body back. Fenris?" She looked at the wolf, who raised his head at his name. He flicked his ear as he crouched down low so Spider-man could delicately loft Loki up and rest the corpse on Fenris' back.

They trudged back to camp in a mournful silence.

…

Hela led Loki away from the throne, and the pair now walked down the crumbling corridors of her palace.

"Where are we going, if you don't mind my asking?" Loki piped up, keeping stride with the Goddess. They passed various people; all of them were pale and dead-looking, which they probably were, wearing torn clothing that hung off their thin and bruised frames. Loki gave each a passing glance, but otherwise didn't pay them too much mind.

"Surprisingly enough, I am currently unable to leave my realm. That's what I need you for," Hela replied absently.

"Then how are you supposed to help me?" Loki demanded.

"Oh, I'm not going to help you. I'll have to send you someone who isn't blocked by the barriers instead." Hela shrugged in a care-free way.

"And how will this 'someone' be able to help?" Loki huffed as they passed several tall double doors that reached up to the ceiling.

"You think that I'd just send you with some rookie? I'm wounded, Loki!" Hela gasped dramatically.

She led him around a corner and they stood in front of a door. It was smaller than the rest, not as grand. It was a dark wood, a contrast to the stone and concrete. Loki looked at Hela in question. He was met with a smirk. Hela waved her hand and the door opened.

It was a relatively small room, equipped with a desk, chair, bed and…

"A girl?" Loki asked, eyebrows raised. The girl's head shot up from where she sat on the bed. The girl was certainly different from everybody else he'd seen in the realm. Her hair was sleek and shiny, her clothes were in decent condition, and she wasn't as dead-looking. Her brown hair fell just below her shoulders, and her gray eyes were wide as she stared at the newcomers.

"M-my queen!" The girl stuttered in surprise, immediately getting to her feet and bowing to one knee in front of Hela. Loki stared at the girl in complete wonder.

"Naomi. Apologies for barging in unannounced. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important?" Hela asked, regarding the girl with a soft smile.

"Nothing is more important than you, my queen," Naomi replied instantly, keeping her head bowed. Help rolled her eyes.

"Cut the bullshit and stand up, Naomi. I have a quest for you." The girl, Naomi, stood and met Hela's green eyes with curious gray ones.

"So soon after your return, my queen?" Naomi asked and tilted her head.

"The world goes on, my dear. And this is a… different kind of quest," Hela said, before turning her attention to Loki. "This is my adopted half-brother, Loki."

"Hello," Loki greeted with a nod. The girl nodded curtly in return.

"The same half-brother that sent a fire demon to kill you?" The girl asked, coldness leaking into her tone. Loki huffed.

"Well, yes I suppose he did. That matters not now. Loki is capable of something that I want, so in return we're going to help him."

"With what, my queen? World domination?"

"No. Saving it, actually," Hela replied, the corners of her mouth twitching into a small smile.

"Oh?" Naomi switched her curious gaze to Loki. "You're the god of chaos, right? Shouldn't you be the one causing chaos?"

"Well, I'm actually the god of mischief. So, no. I suppose you could say I've had a change of heart," Loki shrugged.

"Huh. Never saw that coming," Naomi mumbled. She turned her gaze to Hela. "And what will I be helping him do?"

"You're going to show him out of the realm, and assist him in bringing souls back from the Soul stone."

"That's all?" The girl asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, it won't be that easy, my child. You are against Thanos, and he will surely not let you retrieve the souls he had tried so hard to steal."

"The mad titan? That's the reason you've been acting strange, isn't it, my queen?" Naomi asked, frowning. "What has he done?"

"Gathered the infinity stones and snapped half of the universe out of existence," Loki huffed, speaking freely for the first time. He had been observing, trying to analyze the girl. Surely she had to be powerful if Hela was sending her with him.

"Oh. That sucks," Naomi said.

"No kidding," Loki deadpanned, And Naomi gave a childish grin.

"Well, the two of you had better get going," Hela interrupted. Loki smirked.

"Why? Are you so quick to get rid of me, dear sister? I'm honoured."

"No, you imbecile," Hela huffed with a roll of her eyes. "I can sense death on the horizon."

…

It had been almost a year since they'd all been together.

The Avengers has drifted apart, all going separate ways to try and deal with their losses. Some had left together, while others went alone. Nobody said goodbye, nobody begged anyone to stay. They just shrugged their shoulders and moved on when another person didn't show up to nightly meals.

After a few months, only Tony was left in the Compound. He was in his lab all the time, so it wasn't lie he was missing any social interaction. He just focused on building, focused on fixing things. Anything to get his mind away from the boy with curly brown hair pleading for his life in Tony's arms.

They were all separated, until they weren't. Until, after a year of nothing, something happened.

It was like a switch flipped in everybody's mind. They suddenly knew something was coming. Some had dreams, while others just had the feeling. They all only knew of one bad thing left in the universe that could cause problems.

Thanos.

So, the Avengers assembled in the compound. Thor had given up on Valkyrie and sat farthest away from her as she spoke with Carol. Korg had been clueless, and was off with Meik doing god knows what. Bruce was sat next to Thor, trying to spark up some form of conversation, Tony was speaking quietly and urgently with Pepper and Rhodey, Clint and Natasha sat away from the rest of the team, and Steve sat in between Nebula and Rocket.

"So, why are we here again?" Rocket asked in a huff, crossing his arms.

"I don't know, Captain Spangles over there just demanded some emergency meeting," Tony piped up as he stepped away from Pepper. Steve sighed.

"You should all know why you're here. Thanos is still out there. Maybe if we could just get the stones from him, we could-"

"Don't," Clint interrupted harshly. "Don't give out false hope. Everybody we lost? They're gone, and there's nothing we can do to change it. So don't give us hope of a victory we could never achieve."

"We couldn't beat Thanos with the heroes that we lost; how could we hope to beat him now that everyone is gone?" Bruce spoke up, bringing a hand up to hold the bridge of his nose.

"But if we just try, maybe we could bring them back! All we need is to get the stones!" Steve insisted.

"None of you are strong enough to wield all of the stones," Nebula piped up. "My father is a wicked being, yes, but nobody could challenge the fact that he is only just strong enough to wield them."

"So then we'll find someone who can wield them! We'll-"

"Steve," Natasha interrupted. "Stop. There's no hope left. Stop doing this to yourself."

"Nat, come on. We can fix this! We just have to find Thanos and fight him for the stones!"

"We already lost! What gives us an edge now?"

"Carol said it herself; we didn't have her last time, nor did we have the Valkyrie."

"Woah woah woah, why the hell are you bringing me into this? I'm only here because there are hot girls and booze!" Valkyrie interrupted, and as of to make a point, Valkyrie took a long swig from an amber bottle. Carol scoffed from next to her.

"Okay, Iced Americano, even if we were to go through with this— which we won't, how would we even find the Genocidal grape?" Rocket asked, crossing his furry arms.

"Where the hell'd you get Iced Americano from?" Bruce mumbled as Steve replied.

"He still has the stones, and the stones give off some sort of energy, right? Don't we have three scientists? We could track him."

"That's… actually a decent plan," Tony said, sounded extremely surprised.

"Yeah, it would be, except we don't know what energy the stones radiate. It could be anything!" Bruce insisted stubbornly.

"Gamma," Nebula said simply.

"What?"

"The stones radiate strong Gamma rays," Nebula repeated, as though it were obvious.

"Yeah, that makes sense; the Glow Stick of Destiny radiated Gamma rays, and so did the Tesseract. They both ended up being infinity stones," Tony murmured, running a tired hand down his face.

"So, what, we monitor the entire universe until we find something we think is the Infinity Stones?" Rocket asked. "You terrains don't have the greatest tech. It was hard enough to make the locator pirate boy requested." Rocket gestured to Thor as he spoke.

"Pirate?" Thor mumbled, earning a snort from Bruce.

"No," Steve said after a moment. "We don't. We let him come to us."

"Uh, excuse me?" Tony's voice was barely heard over the uproar the idea created.

"That's suicide!" Clint huffed.

"There ain't no way in hell we live through that," Rocket growled.

"You jackasses couldn't even beat him last time!" Valkyrie pointed out.

"Everybody shut up!" Natasha snapped. "Let him finish."

"Thank you," Steve said with a nod and a small smile towards Natasha. Natasha returned the smile. "Now, I know the idea seems…"

"Idiotic?" Rhodey supplied.

"Insane?" Tony tacked on.

"Senseless?"Clint suggested.

"I was going to say farfetched, but thank you all," Steve sighed. "I was thinking if we could get him to believe he was missing a stone…"

"We could use the signal to lead him right to us and take the stones," Bruce finished.

"Well, what the hell would we do with them?" Rocket huffed. "Polish them and keep them in a museum?"

"No," Tony mumbled thoughtfully. "No, we could use them for something better."

"Like what?" Pepper asked.

"Well, when Thanos snapped his fingers, half of the universe disappeared, right?" Tony asked, moving to stand next to Steve. His gaze wandered along each and every remaining Avenger.

"Right. The stones did his bidding," Nebula answered. "He wished for balance and they complied."

"What if we wished for something? If one of us wielded all the stones? They would have to do our bidding."

"Tones, no! That is a horrible idea!" Rhodey huffed.

"Now, hear me out!" Tony snapped. "We have literal gods on our side," Tony pointed out, making a gesture towards Thor who blinked in confusion.

"Eh, what?" He mumbled.

"I'm saying that we have people strong enough to possibly wield all the stones! Thor, if we could just get you the gauntlet—"

"But the stones took a toll on even Thanos. You didn't see him after he snapped; the gauntlet was burnt to a crisp, and so was half of his ugly face," Natasha pointed out thoughtfully. "How do we know the same won't happen to Thor?"

"We don't," Steve murmured. "But it could be worth a shot." He glanced up towards Thor. "If you are willing, that is."

Thor thought for a moment. Most of his people were dead, and so was his family. Valkyrie barely gave him so much as a glance these days.

"So, you were only protecting yourself from getting hurt is what you're saying?"

Maybe Valkyrie had been right before. But if he took this chance now, if he could bring everybody back—

If he could bring Loki back…

"I'll do it."

…

When the trio made it back to where the others were waiting with Loki's body, the clearing fell silent. Spider-man sniffled from somewhere behind her, and that was all it took for hell to break lose.

"I-is that Loki?" Sam asked.

"Holy shit…" Bucky murmured, taking a step forwards.

"What the hell happened?" Quill demanded.

"We don't know," Jane croaked, helping Spider-man slide Loki's corpse off Fenris's back. "We found him like this in the river."

"Was there signs of a struggle?" Stephen asked, taking charge and marching forwards to examine the body.

"I-I don't know. I wasn't really… looking for one," Jane confessed.

"There was blood on a nearby tree, and leaves surrounding it almost as though something or someone had been thrown into it," Spider-man piped up quietly. Stephen hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, there isn't much we can do," the sorcerer shrugged.

"What are we gonna do with the body?" Bucky asked. Sam snorted, muffling his laughter with his hand.

"What's so funny?" Bucky demanded, crossing his arms.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sam wheezed. "Just the way you said it—" he broke off with a snicker, gasping for breath.

"I think he's saying it sounded like you killed the guy," Quill piped up.

"I am Groot?"

"No, he did not actually kill the guy, Groot!"

"I am Groot."

"Fenris? Would you mind..?" Stephen trailed off, and Fenris nodded. The delicately took Loki's body in his jaws and disappeared into the bushes.

"That was most unpleasant," Drax huffed. Mantis, who had left to calm the Barton children down, looked up with sad black eyes.

"I wonder what happened to him?"

"We have no time to dwell on that now," Stephen declared. "We have work to do."

When the darkness lifted in the Soul world, signaling its equivalent to day, the group set off with Stephen Strange in the lead. He didn't say anything, not even when Spider-man asked where they were going.

The trees were beginning to thin, giving way to nothing but a land of musty orange.

They didn't stop their journey, and Fenris ended up carrying the Barton children on his back when they started complaining about walking so far. Still, Stephen said nothing.

Not until they reached a large, orange dome.

"What the hell is this?" Quill asked, marching to the front of the group. "You made us walk all that way for an orange wubble bubble?"

"No," Stephen replied, but he didn't say anything else.

"I am Groot," Groot huffed.

"He is very ominous, isn't he?" Drax agreed. "Like a true wizard."

"Why don't you just tell us where we are, Dumbledore?" Quill huffed.

"Harry Potter reference?" Spider-man perked up, smirking a little.

"Do they still have that on Earth?" Quill gasped.

"Hell yeah! I'm a Hufflepuff," Spider-man states proudly.

"Wow, who would have thought," Sam mumbled dryly.

Before any arguments could break out, Stephen pressed his hand to the dome. The orange liquid-like bubble rippled around Stephen's hand over and over, an orange shine casting over each face watching in wide-eyed awe. The group of dusted Avengers were almost caught in a trance as the bubble rippled, until finally it didn't.

The bubble retracted from around Strange's hand, melting away until it held a gap large enough for people to walk through.

"Woah," Lila murmured.

Stephen stepped through the gap and gestures for the rest to follow him. One by one, the Avengers stepped through. First Spider-man, then Sam, Bucky, Quill, Mantis, Drax and Groot. When Fenris and the Barton kids approached, the bubble melted back further for the large wolf to haul himself through. Nathaniel giggled as he brought his hand up to touch the dome; the orange rippled around his small fingertips.

The land beyond the dome was not covered in soft, golden grass. Instead, it was filled with shallow water that reflected the sky.

"What is this place?" Mantis asked in wonder.

"I do not know of it's name," Stephen confessed. "However, when I looked into the future, I saw someone in here that could help us. Come, we have wasted enough time already."

With that, Stephen began walking again. Spider-man glanced at Jane and shrugged in confusion, before following him. Fenris leaned down to let the Barton children of his back. Nathaniel squealed in delight as he was brought knee-deep into the water, and began splashing around. Cooper brought his hand to the water and skimmed it lightly as he walked, while Lila joined Nathaniel. Fenris kept the three on track with gentle nudges when they slowed down or a low growl when they strayed too far in their games.

Jane thought it looked almost parental.

As they kept walking, a fog settled over the area. It looked like something almost from a horror movie, and the group could barely see the dark outline of each-other.

"As if this place couldn't get ominous enough," Sam huffed.

"Stick together," Stephen ordered curtly. "Don't let anyone out of your sight."

And so they kept walking. After a few minutes, the fog began to thin, and the dark silhouette of a mountain lay on the horizon. Dark shadows were cast along the group as the sky began to darken. The group continued to wade through the shallow pool of water, a few casting cautious glances around them. And then, Stephen stopped.

Bucky, who wasn't paying attention, bumped into the sorcerer.

"What the— why have we stopped?" He asked, rubbing the part of his head that had collided with Stephen's. The latter simply turned.

"Wait," he warned, before turning back and bringing his sling-ring to his fingers. Stephen began to murmur a spell, and a series of orange shapes appeared in front of his waving fingers. The shapes sparked before exploding, earning a help from Nathaniel.

There was an eerie quiet for a few moments. Everybody glanced uneasily at each other, and Fenris had pulled the young children closer to his paws.

And then there was a girl.

She had green skin, and her long magenta hair was pulled back and braided into two pigtails. She wore a purple dress, and regarded the dusted Avengers cautiously.

"Who are you?" She asked, tilting her head with childlike curiosity.

"I do not believe that is the question we should be asking," Strange replied simply. "Who are you?"

The girl blinked, caught off-guard, but opened her mouth to reply.

"I am Gamora."

..

sorry not sorry :-)


	16. I'm Sorry (Finale)

Uhh, hey guys. I don't know if any of you are still hanging around, and if you are you're probably very disappointed that this isn't a new chapter. Sorry. Life is a bit busy. I honestly thought that i'd have another chapter out by now, but then school happened and then before I knew it, midterms crawled up on me and then we had exams and it was just- ejawugrofwau. Gross. This semester my classes are horrible so i honestly doubt the next chapter will be out any time soon. Also, I got a job. o. And I joined the school robotics team. yeehaw. Basically i have made a bunch of commitments and, honestly, i kinda forgot about this story haha.

When I started writing Fight Another Day, I was in grade 7. I was too anxious to post the first chapter, so i just wrote more and waited until grade 8 to upload the first chapter. When I posted it, I didn't dare think it would get the amount of attention that it has. I mean, _127 reviews and over 5,000 views? _I don't think 12-year-old me thought about any of that. I've matured quite a bit in the, what, 3 years i've been working on this? Sheesh, now that i actually think about it i've been doing this for a looong time. But, the point is, my life has been going wild for the past 2 years. Weeks of just _drama _and _grades _and _homework _and countless mental breakdowns- the teenage years are wild, y'all. I've only been considered a teenager for a year and I already want out. And I honestly hate that I'm typing this right now because I feel like nobody really cares what is going on with me, that they really only care about information about the next chapter. Well, I'll give you this; im probably never going to publish the last three chapters. I've barely touched the file that the story is on since i posted chapter 14. Actually, I hardly think i've started chapter 15.

Now, I know a few of you reading this are pissed at me and I get that. But this isn't my job; I started writing in grade 7 during computer-lab classes because I was passionate about this fandom and about writing. Don't get me wrong, I am still passionate about both of those things. But I'm not getting paid to do this. I chose to write this because I was hoping that maybe somebody out there would like my stories and it was a nice way to work out all my pent-up creativity.

All the dramatics aside, there is one thing this,,, _update _will contain for those still reading; I'm giving you what was going to happen in a point-form format instead of the next three chapters. I'm not updating the story, and i'm tired of making empty promises. I don't want to have to feel like i am being forced to write this story because it takes all the fun out of it.

Please note that the following points aren't exactly in order of execution and that i hadn't really worked out kinks yet.

Here you go;

\- I really liked the Magnus Chase books by Rick Riordan and how they perceived Norse mythology; specifically the parts about the nine realms. Chapter 15 would have included Loki and Naomi physically walking along Yggdrasil just as Magnus and friends do in the books. They'd have to try and escape Ratatoskr the squirrel; Loki would learn that maybe he didn't know as much about the nine realms as he had thought.

\- Naomi and Loki would crash-land to Midgard and into a river somewhere in America. Naomi leads Loki to her friends' campsite. Loki would be introduced to two Alfs known as Alex and Topaz who fought in the revolution on Alfheim. Alex and Loki have a conversation, since Alex is genderfluid. Loki realises a truth that he's kept hidden from himself for his entire life. He and Alex keep in touch. Alex and Topaz point them in the direction of the Avengers Compound using Alf magic.

\- Gamora leads the group in the Soul Stone to the mirror of Vormir, where Red Skull explains that the stones are angry at Thanos for his use of them- the stones feel betrayed. Red Skull tells Gamora that, if she wishes, the Stone will revive her on the condition that she will be its vesicle in the mortal world. Gamora jumps off Vormir and lands in the compound next to Nebula ("'Where will it take me once im revived?' 'The Stone will place you with the one you have the closest bond with.'") The stone takes control of her body to deliver the message that the stones are angered, before telling Gamora have a reunion with Rocket and Nebula. Gamora has the power of the Soul Stone inside of her and can use it in battle.

-The group in the Soul Stone simply wait it out on top of Vormir because there really isn't much else they can do.

-Soul informs the living Avengers that Thanos no longer possesses it because it now resides in Gamora. Gamora uses Soul's energy to lead Thanos to them as he tries to relocate the stone. The Avengers execute a plan that I, the author, have yet to come up with myself to fight Thanos at the Compound. InSeRt EpiC BaTtLe heRe.

-Loki and Naomi show up in the middle of the battle to help out. Everyone is confused, but Thor and Valkyrie are just happy to see him.

-The Avengers are losing the battle again. Loki makes a decision. He uses the technique Naomi showed him for finding riffs in reality and cut right though, taking Yggdrasil to Jotunheim.

-Everyone is super confused as to why Loki left and where the hell he just went because, well, the guy just cut the air open and stepped through so who wouldnt be confused? Clint is salty because he thinks Loki is a coward. Darn Clint, amiright?

-Loki rallies the Jotuns and reveals that he is Laufey's son. He bands together the Frost Giants and leads them into battle in the form he's hated so much since before he fell from the Bifrost.

-Loki makes his epic entrance, similar to that of Endgame's portal entrance; several gaps in reality where Jotuns appear out of. Loki pushes through his new army wearing an ice-version of his horned helmet. Thanos's army is startled by the new arrivals and the fighting stops. Y'know, for dramatic effect. Steve utters his "Avengers, assemble!" line because there is no way in hell im taking that from him. Good job Steve! They do their fancy-pancy charge and screaming and stuff and the battle commences.

-Loki and Thor take on Thanos together, with a few cameos from the other characters. Loki is trying to get the gauntlet to Thor, as he was briefed on the plan earlier, but has a vision of Frigga in the middle of the battle after a bad blow from Thanos knocks him out cold. Frigga tells him that she loves him, and that he knows what he has to do. Loki comes-to with Thor being beaten to a pulp by Thanos and Tony and Steve trying to stop him. Loki charges Thanos and fights with him, ends up with the gauntlet, and snaps.

"I am inevitable." Thanos snapped his fingers, but when nothing happened he turned over his gauntlet. It was empty. The titan whipped around to where Loki was standing tall. The stones moved into place as Loki created a new gauntlet out of ice- a gauntlet that swirled with green and gold magic. The Soul stone ripped itself out of Gamora, who let out a pained cry across the battlefield. Soul rejoined its siblings.

"And I," Loki panted, "am," he readied his fingers in a snapping position, every movement sending blinding white pain through his body, "a God."

Loki snapped.

-Loki's snap kills Thanos and his army, while also bringing back those snapped all that time ago. Strange portals the Soul Stone group to the compound and they have their reunions with their friends. Thor, Bruce, and Valkyrie hover over a weak Loki.

\- NOBODY WORRY I WOULD NEVER KILL LOKI! He's died too much already. He doesn't need another death to add to the list. No, Loki is just weakened severely by the stones. He passes out, and when he wakes up Bruce informs him that his arm wasn't salvageable and that they had to cut it off at his shoulder.

-Loki ends up with either an arm made out of ice from his Jotun form (dont ask me how that works because i can't answer you) or a metal one similar to that of Anakin Skywalker or Nebula. Or Luke Skywalker, i guess, because he had his arm chopped off too.

-Loki comes out as genderfluid. (YASSSSS YOU GO YOU FUCKING QUEEEENNN)

THE ENDDD

There you have it. That was basically all I had planned. I don't know if any of it sounded exciting to you but i really liked the idea of Loki accepting himself as Jotun and also i LIVE for genderfluid pansexual Loki so that's why that is there aha.

Oh, yeah, I probably would have initiated Carol x Valkyrie to make it more gay. Maybe they'd, like, kiss after all the Chitauri and Thanos fade away. That'd be cute.

Y'all can feel free to write these little ideas I had planned into a story of your own, I guess, as long as you PM me about it. I thought them all up myself so I'd like it if I knew. Unless these ideas have already been used several times in which please link me to the fic because I wanna read it lol

So,, that's it. I'm sorry I couldn't finish this story, but I hope the little plot points satisfied you.

**Thank you all so much for sticking with me all this time. I love you all. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day. The final votes i counted for the carol x valkyrie vs loki x valkyrie were 14-13 Loki x Valkyrie. Yes, they won, but I wanted big gay energy so I would have shoved in the lesbos because they are really cute. :,)**


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